HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


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History  of  Califo; 


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JOHN  BIDWELL 

Born  in  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  in  1819;  died  in 
Chico,  California,  April  4,  1900;  came  to  California  with  the 
Bartleson  party,  the  first  organized  overland  party,  in  1841. 
This  was,  in  some  respects,  a  most  noted  party,  not  only  in 
its  personnel  which  contained  such  well  known  men  as  Josiah 
Belden,  Talbot  H.  Green,  Charles  M.  Weber,  Joseph  B. 
Chiles,  etc.,  but  from  Soda  springs  on  Bear  river  in  eastern 
Idaho,  they  had  to  make  their  way,  without  guides,  across 
an  unknown  desert  to  find  somewhere  to  the  west  a  river 
called  Mary's  (Humboldt),  failing  to  find  which  they  were 
liable  to  perish  from  thirst.  After  much  suffering  they 
reached  Dr.  John  Marsh's  rancho  on  the  San  Joaquin  river 
November  4th  and  were  all  arrested  and  locked  up  for  entering 
California  without  passports. 

Bidwell  took  part  in  the  Conquest  serving  as  quartermaster 
of  the  California  Battalion  with  the  rank  of  major.  He 
obtained  the  Rancho  Chico  and  other  grants  and  became  a 
great  landowner  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  agricul- 
turists in  California;  served  in  several  public  offices,  but  gave 
his  chief  attention  to  the  agricultural  and  industrial  develop- 
ment of  his  State.  His  record  is  that  of  a  most  honorable  as 
well  as  a  very  successful  man. 


History  of  California 


EDITED  BY 

ZOETH  SKINNER  ELDREDGE 


Volume  Four 


New  York 

The  Century  History  Company 

54  &  56  Dey  Street 


1  !o  i  100 


Printed  by 
Joha  C.  Rankin  Company 
for 
The  Century  History  Company 


Copyright  By 
The  Century  History  Company 

ALL  rights  reserved 


Publication  Office 

54  &  $6  Dey  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

U.S.A. 


-■/ 


contents' 
chapter  l 

GENERAL  PROGRESS 

Communication  with  the  Outside  World 4 

The  Clipper  Ships S 

Communication  with  the  Interior 6 

Overland  Stage  Line 7 

The  Pony  Rider 8 

Telegraph  Lines  in  California 9 

Agricultural  Resources 10 

Melons  and  Grain II 

Agricultural  Society 13 

Lumber  Mills 14 

Iron  Works IS 

Mining  Camps  Become  Towns 17 

Squatters 19 

Prosperous  Towns 20 

Population  of  San  Francisco  in  1852 21 

Theodore  Winthrop's  Account 22 

Water  and  Gas  for  San  Francisco 24 

Merchants  Exchange  in  San  Francisco 25 

Mercantile  Library — City  Hall 26 

Honest  Harry  Meiggs 2^ 

J^  First  School  House. [^ 

Portsmouth  Square 29 

Fortifications 30 

United  States  Branch  Mint 31 

Steamers  Wrecked  at  Entrance  to  Bay 32 

First  Lighthouses 33 

Steamer  Golden  Gate  Burned 34 

Hard  Times  in  1854 35 

Bank  Failures .   36 

The  Rush  to  Eraser  River 38 

Filibusters 39 

William  Walker 41 

Execution  of  Walker 45 

San  Diego — Los  Angeles 46 

Unequal  Taxation 48 

Proposed  Division  of  State 49 

Proposal  Defeated 51 


vi  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

CHAPTER  11. 

THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856 

Unpunished  Crime  in  California 55 

Joaquin  Marietta 56 

Casey — Billy  Mulligan — Yankee  Sullivan 59 

Ned  McGowan 60 

James  King  of  William '. 61 

Palmer,  Cook  &  Company 62 

King  Denounces  Public  Officials 63 

The  Bulletin  Becomes  Popular 64 

King  Defies  His  Enemies 65 

United  States  Marshal  Murdered 66 

Trial  of  the  Murderer 67 

Mistrial 68 

Bulletin  Publishes  Casey's  Record 70 

James  King  of  William  Shot 71 

Casey  Arrested 72 

Vigilance  Committee  Called  Together 74 

Coleman  Selected  as  Leader 75 

The  Herald's  Opposition 77 

Vigilantes  Organize  Large  Force 81 

Governor  Johnson  Arrives 83 

William  T.  Sherman  as  Major-General  of  Militia 84 

The  Jail  Guarded 86 

Casey  and  Cora  Delivered  to  the  Vigilantes 91 

Trial  of  Cora  and  Casey 92 

Death  of  King 93 

Funeral  of  King 94 

Execution  of  Cora  and  Casey 96 

Flight  of  McGowan 97 

Yankee  Sullivan  Commits  Suicide 98 

A  Double  Improved  Back  Action  Ballot  Box 99 

Bad  Characters  Driven  from  City lOO 

The  Law  and  Order  Party lOi 

Fort  Gunnybags 102 

Governor  Urged  to  Force  Vigilantes  to  Disband 104 

General  Sherman  Resigns 105 

Army  Captured  by  Vigilantes 108 

Hopkins  Stabbed  by  Chief  Justice  Terry 109 

Terry  Surrendered  to  the  Vigilantes Ill 

Correspondence  Between  Captain  Boutwell  and  the  Vigilantes 115 

Farragut  Cautions  Boutwell 1 16 

A  Dilemma 119 

Trial  of  Terry 120 


CONTENTS  vii 


Terry  Released I2I 

Takes  Refuge  on  the  John  Adams 122 

Execution  of  Brace  and  Hetherington 123 

Last  Parade  of  the  Vigilantes 124 

The  Work  Accomplished  by  the  Committee 125 

CHAPTER  III. 

BRODERICK 

Senators  Broderick  and  Gwin  Leave  for  the  East 129 

Contest  Between  Free  and  Slave  State  Men 130 

Cold  Reception  for  Broderick  from  President  Buchanan 132 

Broderick  Fails  to  Secure  Federal  Patronage 134 

Chivalry  vs.  Tammany  Factions 136 

Troubles  in  Kansas  Affecting  California 137 

Broderick  Expresses  His  Opinions 138 

His  Views  on  the  Dignity  of  Labor 141 

He  Denounces  the  Lime  Point  Swindle 145 

The  Legislature  Instructs  the  Senators  to  Support  the  President  and 

the  Lecompton  Convention 147 

Broderick's  Allies  in  the  Senate 149 

Political  Duels.     Death  of  Gilbert 150 

Death  of  William  L  Ferguson 151 

Federal  Patronage  in  California 153 

Three  State  Tickets  in  the  Field 155 

y.  The  Republican  Platform 156 

Broderick  Takes  Stump  for  Douglas  Democrats 158 

Terry's  Insulting  Speech 159 

Broderick's  Response 160 

He  Charges  Gwin  with  Corruption 163 

Gwin's  Letter  to  Broderick 164 

^  Latham  Elected  Governor 165 

Terry  Challenges  Broderick 166 

Broderick  Accepts 167 

Place  and  Terms  of  the  Duel 168 

Death  of  Broderick 171 

His  Fate  Lamented 172 

Colonel  Baker's  Funeral  Oration 173 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CIVIL  WAR  TIMES 

Designs  of  the  Slave  Power  on  California 178 

>  The  Campaign  of  i860 182 

'  Thomas  Starr  King  Appears  in  Support  of  the  Union 183 

Colonel  Baker's  Speech 187 


viii  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  State  Carried  by  Lincoln l88 

Secession  of  Southern  States 189 

Talk  of  a  Pacific  Republic 192 

McDougall  Elected  Senator  to  Succeed  Gwin 194 

Excitement  over  Attack  on  Fort  Sumter 196 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston  in  Command 197 

Union  Meeting  in  San  Francisco 199 

Meeting  Pledges  San  Francisco  to  the  Union 200 

Stanford  Elected  Governor 203 

Terry  Raises  Regiment  in  Texas  and  Fights  for  South 204 

Gwin  Arrested  En  Route  for  South v 205 

Enlistments  in  California 206 

Troops  Furnished  for  the  Union 207 

Good  Service  by  Californians 208 

The  "California  Hundred" 210 

Colonel  Baker's  Regiment  of  Californians 212 

Great  Amount  of  Gold  Sent  by  California 213 

The  Sanitary  Commission 218 

CHAPTER  V. 

COMSTOCK  LODE 

Discovery  of  the  Comstock  Lode 223 

Mormons  in  Nevada 225 

O'Riley — McLaughlin — Comstock 226 

Rich  Ore 228 

Reduction  of  Ores  by  Arastras 229 

Snow-Shoe  Thompson 231 

The  Travel  Over  the  Sierra  Nevada. .   232 

Naming  of  Virginia  City  and  Mount  Davidson 235 

Wood  and  Water  for  the  Mines 237 

Pumps  and  Engines 238 

Sutro  Tunnel 239 

The  Tunnel  Completed 240 

Organization  of  San  Francisco  Stock  Exchange 241 

Bank  of  California  and  William  Sharon 243 

Sharon's  Control  of  the  Mines 244 

Crown  Point  and  Belcher  Bonanza 245 

Rise  of  Mackay,  Fair,  Flood,  and  O'Brien 246 

Discovery  of  Bonanza  in  Consolidated  Virginia 247 

Enormous  Production  of  Bullion 248 

Miner's  Law 249 

Invention  of  Mining  Machinery,  etc 250 

Money  Poured  into  San  Francisco 251 


CONTENTS  ix 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 

Where  Rolls  the  Oregon 255 

Discovery  of  the  Columbia  River 256 

Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition 257 

Wilkinson  and  His  Advice  to  the  Spanish  Governor 258 

Jedediah  Smith  and  the  American  Trappers 259 

Carver's  and  Plumbe's  Railroad  Schemes 260 

Asa  Whitney — George  Wilkes 261 

A  Period  of  Great  Expectations 262 

A  Route  to  India 263 

Interest  in  a  Pacific  Railroad 264 

Benton  on  Whitney's  Plan 265 

Engineers  in  the  Field 267 

Reports  of  Engineers 268 

Charter  of  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company 269 

Land  Grants  to  Railroads 270 

Construction  Aid  Bonds 271 

Central  Pacific  Company 272 

Route  of  Union  Pacific 273 

Railroads  in  California 274 

Pioneer  Stage  Company's  Route 275 

Theodore  D.  Judah 277 

Stanford — Crocker — Huntington — Hopkins 278 

Railroad  Bill  of  Sargent  and  Judah 279 

First  Work  Begun  on  Central  Pacific 280 

Struggle  to  Build  First  Forty  Miles 281 

Opposition  of  the  Press  282 

State  and  County  Help 284 

Amended  Act  of  1864 285 

Base  of  Sierra  Nevada  Moved  to  Sacramento 287 

The  "Dutch  Flat  Swindle" 288 

The  Contract  and  Finance  Company 290 

Route  Over  the  Sierra  Nevada 291 

A  Difficult  Country  to  Build  Railroad  in 292 

Line  Completed  Over  the  Mountains 295 

The  Race  for  Ogden 296 

The  Roads  Meet   297 

What  the  Engines  Said 298 

San  Antonio  Grant  and  the  Oakland  Water  Front 299 

Incorporation  of  Oakland  and  the  Water  Front  Company 300 

The  Western  Pacific  and  Terminal  Central  Pacific  Companies 301 

Amount  of  Aid  Construction  Bonds  Issued 302 

Cost  of  the  Road 303 


tw 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


J 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  THE  SAND-LOT  AGITATION 

Early  Chinese  in  California 307 

Foreign  Miners'  Tax 308 

The  Six  Companies 309 

Chinese  Cheap  Labor 3  lO 

Governor  Bigkr's  Message 313 

The  Burlingame  Treaty 314 

Californian  Protests 316 

Violence  Towards  Chinese  Rebuked 317 

Chief  Justice  Murray's  Opinion 318 

The  Angel-Swift  Treaty 319 

Chinese  Coolies  in  California 320 

Formation  of  Labor  Unions 321 

Outbreak  in  San  Francisco 322 

The  Pick-Handle  Brigade 323 

Denis  Kearney,  Leader 324 

His  Picturesque  Language 325 

The  Sand-Lot  Party 327 

Kearney's  Violent  Speeches 328 

Denounces  the  Railroad  Men 329 

Threatens  Pacific  Mail  Property 331 

Kearney  Arrested 332 

He  Forms  Military  Companies 334 

The  Workingmen's  Party 335 

The  Fall  of  Kearney 336 

Subsidence  of  the  Sand-Lot  Movement 337 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION 

Conditions  Which  Caused  Demand  for  a  New  Constitution 341 

Election  of  Delegates 342 

Personnel  of  the  Convention 343 

Analysis  of  Constitution,  Legislative  Department 346 

Executive  Department 347 

Taxation 348 

Corporations 349 

City  and  County  Governments 350 

Chinese  Immigration.  "The  Chinese  Must  Go" 352 


CONTENTS  xi 


John  F.  Miller  on  the  Chinese 353 

The  Chinaman  as  Depicted  by  Miller 359 

The  Chinese  Defended  by  Charles  V.  Stuart 362 

Miller  and  Stuart  Represent  Two  Theories 365 

Chinese  Versus  White  Labor  366 

Chinese  and  Public  Works 367 

Constitution  Completed  and  Signed 368 

Constitution  Ratified 369 

Character  of  the  Fight  Against  the  Constitution 370 

Discussion  in  Regard  to  the  Constitution 371 

CHAPTER  IX. 

TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

No  Trade  Permitted  With  California  During  Rule  of  Spain 375 

Supplies  Sent  to  California 376 

Governor  Petitions  Home  Government  for  Trade  Privileges 377 

American  Shipmen  on  the  Coast 378 

Raising  of  Hemp.    Live  Stock 379 

Distress  in  California 380 

Boston  Ships  Come  for  Fur  Skins 381 

Change  Caused  by  Gold  Discovery 382 

Land  Grants 383 

The  Clipper  Ships 384 

High  Wages  for  Seamen 385 

Quick  Runs  by  Clippers 387 

The  Trip  of  the  Comet 389 

The  Contest  for  Supremacy 390 

The  Decline  of  the  Clipper  Ships 391 

Exportation  of  Wheat 392 

Attempted  Corner  of  Wheat 395 

Failure  of  the  Wheat  Deal 396 

Labor  Saving  Implements 397 

Development  of  Trade 398 

Organization  of  Chamber  of  Commerce 399 

California's  Production,  1913 400 

Freighting  by  Mule  Team 401 

Developement  of  Southern  Pacific  Lines 402 

Entrance  of  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe 404 

San  Joaquin  Valley  Road 405 

The  Powerful  Central  Pacific  Group 406 

Supreme  in  California 407 

The  Advent  of  Harriman 409 

Summary  of  Transportation  Lines 410 


xii  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  COLORADO  DESERT 

Description  of  the  Desert 415 

The  Colorado  River 416 

The  Colorado  Delta 418 

Hardy's  Colorado 419 

The  Rivers  of  the  Desert 420 

Deadly  Character  of  the  Desert 421 

The  Plan  to  Put  Water  on  Desert  Lands 423 

The  Contract  with  George  Chaffey 425 

Development  Company  Adopts  Name  of  Imperial  Valley 426 

Trouble  with  United  States  Surveys 427 

Report  of  Reclamation  Service 428 

Southern  Pacific  Company  Advances  Funds 430 

A  Runaway  River 43 1 

H.  T.  Cory  Put  in  Charge 432 

Flood  Fills  Salton  Sea 433 

Efforts  to  Close  Break 434 

The  Crevasse  Closed 435 

Great  Cost  of  River  Control 436 

Another  Break  in  the  Levee 437 

Second  Break  Closed 438 

Heavy  Damage  to  Imperial  Lands 439 

River  Adopts  a  New  Channel 440 

A  Sea  of  445  Square  Miles  Created 442 

Great  Agricultural  Product 443 

CHAPTER  XI. 

INDIAN  AFFAIRS— POLITICAL  HISTORY 

Mistreatment  of  California  Indians 447 

No  Digger  Indians  in  California 448 

Indians  Resent  Outrage 449 

Relief  from  Kearneyism 450 

A  Sand-Lot  Mayor  for  San  Francisco 451 

Shooting  of  Isaac  S.  Kalloch  and  Death  of  Charles  de  Young 452 

First  Railroad  Commission 453 

A.  A.  Sargent  Betrayed 454 

Leland  Stanford  Elected  United  States  Senator 455 

Riparian  Rights  Versus  Irrigation 456 

Governors  of  California 457 

Senators  of  United  States  for  California 458 


CONTENTS  xiii 


Initiative,  Referendum,  and  Recall 461 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution 462 

Alien  Land  Bill 463 

United  States  Senators  by  Direct  Vole 464 

CHAPTER  XII. 

EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY 

The  Establishment  of  Property  in  California 467 

Foreigners  in  California 468 

Thirteen  Foreigners  in  1820 469 

Foreigners  Are  Well  Received 470 

Adventure  of  Captain  Fitch 471 

Young  Women  of  the  Best  Families  Marry  Americans 473 

Superiority  of  Californians  to  Mexicans 474 

Advent  of  Rough  Adventurers    475 

Interruption  of  Friendly  Relations 476 

People  Put  Down  Disorder 477 

Opportunity  in  California  for  Advancement 478 

The  Creation  of  the  State  University 479 

The  College  of  California 480 

It  Gives  its  Property  to  the  University 481 

Donations  and  Endowments 482 

Establishment  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University 483 

Other  Universities,  Colleges,  and  Schools 484 

The  Pious  Fund 485 

John  T.  Doyle's  Work  for  the  Pious  Fund 488 

First  Arbitration  Decided  at  the  Hague  Tribunal 489 

Protestant  Churches 490 

The  Great  Diamond  Swindle 491 

The  Fraud  Exposed  by  Clarence  King 494 

Mining  Stock  Speculation 495 

Suit  of  Burke  Against  Bonanza  Firm 497 

The  Essence  of  Trusteeship 498 

The  Rule  of  Rob  Roy 499 

The  Graft  Cases  in  San  Francisco JOO 

The  Californian  Strives  for  Higher  Things 503 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

John  Bidwell Frontispiece 

Samuel  B.  Bell Facing  page  12 

The  Capitol,  Sacramento "  "  18 

The  City  of  Stockton "  "  20 

Castillo  de  San  Joaquin "  "  30 

Lloyd  Tevis "  "  36 

Hayes  Valley "  "  38 

Los  Angeles,  1857 "  "  46 

James  King  of  William "  "  62 

Edson  Adams "  "  88 

Timothy  Guy  Phelps "  "  156 

Edward  D.  Baker "  "  172 

Thomas  Starr  King "  "  184 

John  F.  Merrill "  "  194 

Antonio  Maria  de  la  Guerra "  "  206 

Fourth  Street,  Los  Angeles "  "  216 

Trevor  W.Park "  "  218 

A  Residence  Street,  Los  Angeles "  "  230 

Fifth  and  Hill  Streets,  Los  Angeles "  "  232 

Fifth  Street,  San  Diego "  "  236 

The  Plaza,  San  Diego "  "  240 

William  C.  Ralston "  "  244 

Mackay,  Fair,  Flood  and  O'Brien "  "  246 

Stanford,  Huntington,  Hopkins,  Judah,  Crocker "  "  278 

Richard  Tobin "  "  294 

Lake  Merritt,  Oakland "  "  300 

Flower  Vendors,  San  Francisco "  "  314 

Union  Square,  San  Francisco "  "  318 

The  Cliffs,  San  Francisco "  "  322 

Golden  Gate,  San  Francisco "  "  326 

Embarcadero,  San  Francisco "  "  332 

Market  Street,  San  Francisco "  "  336 

Laguna  de  las  Flores,  San  Diego  Exposition "  "  348 

El  Prado,  San  Diego  Exposition "  "  3<;8 

The  Redwoods,  Bohemian  Grove "  "  360 

Oliver  Eldridge "  "  384 

The  Cow^'i,  Clipper  Ship "  "  390 

George  W.  McNear "  "  394 

A.J.Pope "  "  398 

Wm.  C.Talbot "  "  400 

Cyrus  Walker "  "  402 

A.  M.  Simpson "  "  408 

Imperial  Valley "  «  416 

New  River,  Near  Brawley "  "  432 

New  River,  at  Calexico "  "  434 

Nicholas  A.  Den "  "  472 

James  Black "  "  474 

Galen  Burdell "  "  476 

The  Campus,  University  of  California "  "  480 

The  Greek  Theater,  University  of  California "  "  482 

James  Lick "  "  486 

The  Esplanade,  San  Francisco  Exposition "  "  490 

Court  of  Four  Seasons,  San  Francisco  Exposition "  "  494 

Arches  of  Court  of  Abundance,  San  Francisco  Exposition "  "  496 

Avenue  of  Palms,  San  Francisco  Exposition "  "  500 


CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL  PROGRESS 


IN  spite  of  the  fact  that  pubHc  business  had  been 
loosely  or  extravagantly  managed  from  the  begin- 
ning; that  the  state  debt  at  the  close  of  1856 
exceeded  the  constitutional  limit  by  more  than 
three  and  a  half  million  dollars;  that  the  people  were 
face  to  face  with  the  question  of  payment  or  repudiation 
and  that  the  affairs  in  the  cities  and  towns  were  in  almost 
equally  bad  condition;  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  laws 
were  only  negligently  enforced — that  judges  were  often 
incompetent  and  never  very  energetic,  while  prosecu- 
tors and  jurymen  were  inefficient  and  often  believed  to 
be  in  league  with  the  criminals — and  that  honest  people 
in  many  places  were  compelled  to  rely  on  their  vigilance 
committees  as  their  only  sure  means  of  defense;  in  spite 
of  the  losses  that  merchants  in  San  Francisco,  Sacra- 
mento, and  Stockton  had  suffered  from  devastating 
fires,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  general  govern- 
ment had  done  but  little  as  yet  to  begin  surveys, 
establish  land  offices,  and  open  the  public  lands  to 
settlement,  the  state  had  made  surprising  progress  dur- 
ing the  first  half  decade  after  the  great  inrush  of  settlers 
began,  and  would  make  more  before  its  end. 

It  had  far  quicker,  surer,  and  more  frequent  commu- 
nication with  the  east  than  when  the  first  Pacific  Mail 
steamer  arrived  in  1849.  The  Panama  railroad,  begun 
in  1850,  had  been  completed  and  opened  for  business 
in  January,  1855,  and  larger  and  swifter  steamers  had 
been  built  to  carry  freight  and  passengers  from  its 
eastern  and  western  termini  to  New  York  and  San 
Francisco.  One  of  these,  the  Sierra  Nevada,  made  one 
trip  from  San  Francisco  to  Panama  in  eleven,  and 
another  in  eleven  and  a  half  days,  while  the  John  L. 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


Stephens,  a  sister  ship,  once  made  it  in  equally  fast  time; 
the  average  time,  however,  was  about  fourteen  days. 
San  Francisco  had  regular  mails  twice  a  month; 
"Steamer  day"  began  to  be  an  event  in  the  life  of  the 
city,  and  the  memory  of  it  is  still  perpetuated  in  its 
business  customs.  There  was  also  regular  steam  con- 
nection with  Oregon  on  the  north,  and  with  various 
ports  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  Central  America, 
though  after  the  railroad  was  completed  the  various 
lines  competing  with  the  Pacific  Mail  gradually  declined 
or  found  other  employment  for  their  ships. 

And  it  was  not  by  steam  only  that  California's 
connection  with  the  outside  world  had  been  expedited 
and  enlarged.  Trade  with  China,  which  began  late  in 
the  Eighteenth  century,  had  caused  a  demand  for 
faster  ships,  and  turned  the  attention  of  ship  builders 
to  their  improvement;  but  it  was  not  until  the  rapid 
increase  of  trade  between  the  eastern  coast  and  Cali- 
fornia began  in  1849,  that  the  vast  advance  was  begun 
that  resulted  in  the  clipper  ships,  famous  in  their  time, 
particularly  in  connection  with  the  California  trade, 
although  they  sailed  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  They 
were  much  larger  than  the  ships  of  earlier  days,  some- 
times being  of  more  than  two  thousand  tons.  They 
were  built  with  the  view  both  of  meeting  least  resistance 
while  passing  through  the  water,  and  of  carrying  all  the 
canvas  possible.  Their  hulls  were  long  and  carefully 
molded,  with  sharp  prows  and  sterns  carefully  planned 
to  permit  the  water  to  close  easily  about  them.  Their 
spars  were  tall  and  graceful  and  every  yard  as  neatly 
tapered  as  the  demands  upon  it  would  permit.  With 
all  sails  set  in  moderate  weather,  they  moved  like  the 


GENERAL  PROGRESS 


things  of  beauty  they  were,  and  in  storms  they  proved 
to  be  the  staunchest  of  all  sea  going  craft.  Could  Dana 
have  seen  one  of  them  with  all  her  canvas  spread,  that 
evening  when  he  lay  along  the  flying  jib  boom  of  the  old 
Alert  on  his  homeward  voyage  through  the  tropics,  we 
should  perhaps  have  a  far  more  brilliant  word  picture 
than  that  famous  one  he  has  drawn  for  us  of  a  ship 
under  full  sail.* 

These  ships  reduced  the  average  time  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco  by  nearly  one-half.  While  the  forty- 
niners  who  came  around  the  horn  had  often  spent  from 
six  to  nine  months  on  the  voyage,  these  clippers  some- 
times made  it  in  less  than  three.  The  Flying  Cloud 
made  it  in  eighty-nine  days  in  1851,  and  in  ninety  days 
in  1854;  the  Flying  Fish  in  ninety-two  days  in  1853, 
and  the  Andrew  Jackson  in  ninety  days  in  1859-60. 
The  Panama  was  out  only  eighty-six  days  and  seven- 
teen hours  on  her  first  voyage  from  San  Francisco  to 
Liverpool  in  1851,  and  in  1863  the  Great  Republic ^  3)367 
tons,  made  the  run  in  one  hundred  and  two  days. 

The  means  of  communication  between  San  Francisco 
and  various  points  in  the  interior  had  also  been  very 
greatly  improved.  River  craft  running  from  San 
Francisco  to  Stockton  and  Sacramento,  and  even  fur- 
ther up  both  great  rivers,  had  greatly  multiplied. 
Steamers  were  making  regular  trips,  starting  and  arriv- 
ing at  stated  hours.  From  Sacramento  and  Stockton 
numerous  lines  of  stages  ran  to  the  smaller  towns  further 
in  the  interior,  and  even  to  many  of  the  more  remote 
mining  camps,  for  a  large  part  of  the  distance  over  fairly 
well  made  roads,  on  which  the  larger  streams  as  well  as 

*Two  Years  Before  the  Mast,  Chapter  XXXIII. 


6  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

many  of  the  smaller  ones  had  been  spanned  by  substan- 
tial bridges.  In  1849  Adams  and  Company  had  begun 
to  establish  an  express  business  between  San  Francisco 
and  towns  in  the  interior,  and  had  gradually  extended 
it  during  the  succeeding  years  until  it  had  offices  in 
most  of  the  mining  camps.  It  did  a  banking  business 
also,  and  had  its  principal  office  in  San  Francisco.  It 
had,  or  was  supposed  to  have,  the  backing  of  an  eastern 
company  of  similar  name,  which  had  been  one  of  the 
earliest  to  carry  parcels  and  smaller  packages  from 
point  to  point  regularly.  For  a  time  it  had  the  confi- 
dence of  business  men  and  miners,  and  its  business  grew 
rapidly,  until  it  had  the  larger  part  of  the  express  and 
banking  business  of  the  new  state. 

Its  principal  competitor  after  1852  was  Wells  Fargo 
and  Company,  and  when  Adams  and  Company  failed 
in  1855,  the  latter  succeeded  to  its  business  which  it 
extended  and  improved,  sending  men  on  horse  back  as 
far  as  horses  could  go,  and  then  on  foot  and  even  on 
snow  shoes  into  the  remotest  parts  of  the  mountain 
regions.  It  brought  out  the  miner's  dust  from  the 
camps,  and  attended  to  its  delivery  at  the  mint,  after 
it  was  established  in  1854;  it  also  carried  his  letters  for 
which  he  paid  a  special  rate,  and  these  it  delivered  so 
regularly  and  certainly,  that  it  continued  to  enjoy  a 
large  patronage  of  this  kind  long  after  the  miner  might 
have  sent  them  more  cheaply  by  mail. 

Freighting  had  early  become  a  settled  business  between 
the  interior  towns  and  those  which  were  most  remote. 
Heavy  wagons  drawn  by  teams,  sometimes  of  sixteen 
horses  or  mules,  carried  their  loads  to  the  ends  of  the 
gradually  extending  roads,  where  such  parts  of  them  as 


GENERAL  PROGRESS 


were  to  go  further  were  transferred  to  the  backs  of  pack 
animals,  which  carried  them  to  their  destination.  By 
such  means  the  gradually  extending  settlements  were 
regularly  supplied. 

The  steamers  were  the  only  mail  carriers  between 
CaHfornia  and  the  east  down  to  1857.  In  July  of  that 
year  a  mail  to  be  carried  by  overland  stage  was  author- 
ized by  the  post  office  department  between  St.  Louis 
and  San  Francisco,  over  a  route  running  through 
Arkansas,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Arizona,  to  Los 
Angeles.  Stages  left  each  terminus  twice  a  week,  and 
so  brought  California  eight  mails  per  month,  instead 
of  two  by  way  of  the  isthmus.  A  stage  line  from  St. 
Louis  to  Salt  Lake  had  been  established  in  1850,  and 
to  connect  this  with  California,  the  famous  pony 
express  was  established  in  April,  i860.  Over  this  line 
letters  passed  between  New  York  and  San  Francisco 
in  the  short  space  of  fourteen  days,  and  paid  postage 
at  the  rate  of  five  dollars  per  half  ounce. 

The  establishment  of  this  direct,  and  for  those  days 
speedy  communication  between  the  east  and  west,  was 
a  matter  of  interest  and  importance  to  both.  The  first 
mail  from  San  Francisco  by  this  route  was  dispatched 
on  April  3d,  by  the  Sacramento  boat.  From  Sacra- 
mento it  went  to  Folsom  over  the  Sacramento  valley 
railroad — the  first  built  in  the  state — then  across  the 
mountains  by  stage  to  Genoa,  where  the  pony  rider 
took  it  for  its  long  journey  by  night  and  by  day  through 
the  Indian  country  to  St.  Joseph,  Missouri.  From  St. 
Joseph  the  first  mail  for  the  west  was  sent  away  with 
more  ceremony.  The  pony  and  his  rider  were  at  the 
post  office  at  half  past  seven  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 


8  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  the  same  April  3d,  where  many  people  had  assembled 
to  see  them  off.  Some  speeches  were  made  and  then 
the  mayor  brought  out  the  mail  bag  containing  dis- 
patches for  the  "Alta,"  and  the  "Bulletin"  and 
Sacramento  "Union,"  forty-nine  letters,  and  five  tele- 
grams, gave  it  to  the  rider  and  he  was  away  at  a  gallop. 
Stations  had  been  established  along  the  whole  route 
from  ten  to  twenty  miles  apart,  and  at  each  of  these  a 
fresh  horse  ready  saddled  would  be  waiting,  to  which 
the  rider  would  transfer  almost  without  stopping;  after 
a  certain  number  of  transfers  he  was  relieved  by  a 
fresh  rider. 

The  last  rider  on  the  first  trip  west  did  not  stop  at 
Genoa,  but  continued  on  to  San  Francisco.  When  he 
had  crossed  the  mountains  into  California  he  began  to  be 
made  aware  that  his  arrival  was  looked  for  and  would 
be  duly  celebrated.  Every  group  of  miners  gave  him 
a  cheer  as  he  flew  by  their  camp,  and  every  village 
along  his  route  gave  him  a  similar  greeting.  At  Placer- 
ville  guns  were  fired  and  speeches  made  that  he  did 
not  wait  to  hear.  At  Sacramento  the  legislature  ad- 
journed in  honor  of  his  arrival.  The  city  was  gay  with 
flags  and  crowds  lined  the  streets  along  which  he  was  to 
pass.  A  troop  of  horsemen  went  out  to  meet  him  and 
escort  him  into  town.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
amid  the  booming  of  cannon,  ringing  of  bells  and  cheer- 
ing of  the  multitude,  horse  and  rider  were  taken  on 
board  the  steamer  Antelope^  and  sent  off  to  San 
Francisco.  There  another  demonstration  was  awaiting 
them.  News  of  their  coming  had  been  telegraphed 
from  Sacramento  and  was  announced  in  all  the  theatres, 
to  members  of  the  engine  companies,  and  circulated 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  9 

generally  through  the  streets.  Before  midnight  a  crowd 
such  as  had  not  assembled  since  that  February  morning 
eleven  years  earlier  when  the  California  arrived,  filled 
the  streets.  Bonfires  blazed  in  all  directions;  four 
gaily  decorated  fire  engines  with  a  band  of  eighteen 
pieces  were  waiting  to  head  the  procession,  and  when 
the  steamer  touched  the  wharf,  pony  and  rider  came 
forth  and  were  escorted  by  a  wildly  cheering  multitude 
to  the  post  office.* 

The  first  trip  of  the  pony  fast  mail  across  the 
continent  had  been  made  practically  on  time,  and  it 
continued  to  be  so  made  until  the  telegraph  was  com- 
pleted in  1 86 1,  except  when,  as  occasionally  happened, 
a  rider  was  killed  by  the  Indians  or  by  outlaws;  and 
then  the  mail  was  rarely  delayed  more  than  a  few  hours. 

In  1853  a  telegraph  line  was  built  from  San  Francisco 
to  the  entrance  to  the  Golden  Gate,  and  this  was  the 
first  telegraph  in  California.  Its  principal,  if  not  its 
only  use,  was  to  announce  the  approach  of  steamers,  and 
it  replaced  the  semaphore  which  had  been  previously 
depended  upon  to  signal  their  arrival  to  the  station  on 
Telegraph  hill  from  which  the  news  was  announced  to 
the  city  by  means  already  explained.  In  1852  work 
was  begun  on  a  telegraph  line  to  connect  San  Francisco 
and  San  Jose,  Stockton,  Sacramento,  and  Aiarysville, 
and  it  was  completed  in  1853.  Another  line  later  con- 
nected San  Francisco  with  Nevada  City  by  way  of 
Auburn  and  Placerville.  This  line  was  extended  as  far 
north  as  Yreka  in  1858.  In  1859  a  line  was  built  to 
Los  Angeles,  by  which  it  was  expected  that  the  news 
brought  by  the  stages  would  be  forwarded  considerably 

*Alta  California  and  other  San  Francisco  newspapers,  April  14  and  15,  i860. 


10  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

earlier  than  otherwise  to  the  San  Francisco  papers;  but 
the  line  from  Placerville  was  extended  to  Carson  City 
at  about  the  same  time,  where  much  later  news  was 
received  by  the  pony  express,  so  the  Los  Angeles  line 
was  not  as  valuable  as  had  been  expected.  In  1861 
the  first  line  across  the  continent  was  completed  and 
thenceforth  California  had  direct  communication  with 
the  east.*  When  the  war  began  in  1861  the  stage  line 
by  the  southern  route  was  discontinued,  and  a  more 
direct  line  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  was  opened.  Over  this 
the  letter  mails  and  such  express  matter  as  could  pay 
the  high  rates  charged,  were  carried  until  the  completion 
of  the  first  transcontinental  railroad  in  May,  1869. 

While  California  was  still  best  known  for  its  mines 
in  1856,  its  people  had  much  earlier  awakened  to  the 
fact  that  mining  was  not  its  principal  resource.  Many 
of  them  had  thought  most  of  it  of  little  value  for  any- 
thing else  upon  their  arrival.  Delano  thought  so, 
although  he  had  soon  found  reason  to  change  his  mind, 
while  Bayard  Taylor  had  been  of  opinion,  almost  from 
the  first,  that  its  agricultural  resources  would  prove  to 
be  great.  He  had  seen  the  ripened  crops  on  the  Fisher 
and  Murphy  ranchos  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley  while 
on  his  way  to  Monterey  in  September;  had  ridden 
through  the  standing  corn  of  the  Castros,  where  after 
dining  with  their  hospitable  owners  on  beef,  green  corn, 
and  tortillas,  two  ripe  watermelons  had  been  rolled  to 
him  for  dessert,  all  of  which  gave  him  a  favorable 
opinion  of  the  country  as  it  well  might.  But  the 
settlers,  arriving  as  most  of  them  did  in  the  late  summer 

*The  first  dispatch  over  this  line  when  completed  announced  the  death  of 
Colonel  E.  D.  Baker  at  Ball's  Bluff. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  11 

or  early  fall  in  the  unsettled  part  of  the  state,  found  the 
great  valleys  dry  and  sear,  their  scanty  herbage  with- 
ered, and  their  soil,  baked  by  the  sun,  opened  in  great 
seams,  showing  it  to  be  as  dry  as  ashes  to  a  depth  far 
deeper  than  the  roots  of  either  wheat  or  corn  could  go  to 
find  moisture.*  While  these  valleys  were  covered  in 
many  places  with  a  heavy  growth  of  wild  oats  now  rip- 
ened, the  settlers  could  hardly  believe  they  would  ever 
produce  anything  else  by  any  kind  of  cultivation  with 
which  they  were  then  famiHar.  The  red  soil  of  the 
smaller  valleys  in  the  foothills  and  mountains  had  no 
very  attractive  look  to  people  who  were  familiar  with 
the  rich  black  loam  of  the  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  Missis- 
sippi valleys;  but  the  first  rude  efforts  at  cultivation 
showed  that  it  had  virtues  and  would  produce  abun- 
dantly. Fine  crops  of  hay  were  gathered  during  1850 
and  1 85 1,  in  the  Onion  and  other  valleys,  and  the  first 
efforts  at  growing  vegetables  were  well  rewarded. 
Sutter  had  grown  wheat  in  the  neighborhood  of  his 
fort,  and  on  Hock  farm  above  Marysville,  and  various 
other  of  the  earlier  settlers  had  found  their  labor 
similarly  rewarded.  An  old  German  named  Schwartz, 
living  about  five  miles  below  Sacramento  and  not 
far  from  the  river,  planted  a  few  acres  of  melons  in  the 
spring  of  1849,  and  in  the  fall  cleared  nearly  ^30,000 
from  his  venture,  his  melons  readily  selling  to  the 
immigrants  and  miners  at  from  one  to  three  dollars 
apiece.     Another  melon  grower  in  1851  cleared  about 

*William  Thompson  in  a  report  to  the  state  agricultural  society  from  Fort 
Miller  and  Millerton  in  Fresno  County  in  1858,  says:  "There  is  no  land  worth 
speaking  of  which  admits  of  cultivation  for  several  miles  from  either  place.  *  *  * 
The  beautiful  level  plains  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  in  our  vicinity  are  at  present 
valueless  except  for  the  scanty  pasturage  they  afford." 


12  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

$20,000  from  his  crop.  It  could  not  be  that  these  had 
hit  upon  the  only  good  land  in  the  valleys.  If  the 
ground  would  grow  melons  it  would  certainly  grow 
other  crops  with  which  the  immigrants  were  familiar, 
and  so  many  of  them  were  encouraged  to  make  ventures 
at  farming. 

Their  efforts  were  at  first  much  hampered  and 
delayed  by  the  slowness  of  the  national  government 
in  beginning  surveys  and  opening  land  offices.  The 
first  appropriations  for  this  purpose  were  made  in  1852, 
and  it  was  a  year  later  before  the  settlers  began  to 
derive  benefit  from  it.  The  indefiniteness  of  the 
boundaries  of  the  Mexican  land  grants,  and  the  dubious 
title  to  some  of  them,  also  continued  to  cause  annoyance 
as  well  as  much  loss  of  time  and  effort.*  But  not- 
withstanding all  these  drawbacks  cultivation  of  the  soil 
was  begun  more  or  less  actively,  and  the  importation 
of  food  products  from  Chili,  China,  or  the  Atlantic 
states,  on  which  the  miners  had  depended  for  the  first 
three  or  four  years  after  gold  was  discovered,  gradually 
diminished  until  it  ceased  entirely.  In  January,  1853, 
William  Van  Voorhees,  secretary  of  state,  reported  to 
the  legislature  that  California  had  nearly  111,000  acres 
of  land  under  cultivation,!  producing  almost  three 
million  bushels  of  barley,  272,000  bushels  of  wheat, 
1,193,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  63,000  bushels  of 
corn.  In  1856,  Governor  Bigler  in  his  message  to  the 
legislature,  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  California 

*For  a  fuller  statement  of  this  difficulty  see  Vol.  V,  Chapter  VI. 

fThis  was  merely  an  estimate,  based  on  reports  he  had  received  from  county 
auditors,  and  was  no  doubt  too  high.  The  census  of  1850  had  shown  32,454  acres 
in  cultivation;  but  by  1855,  according  to  figures  quoted  by  Hon.  Samuel  B.  Bell 
in  an  address  to  the  State  Agricultural  Association  in  1858,  257,630  acres  had  been 
improved;  by  1858  it  was  estimated  that  the  area  had  increased  to  756,734  acres. 


SMIUEL  B.  BELL 

Born  in  Orange  county,  New  York,  in  1817;  died  in  Santa 
Barbara,  California,  in  1897;  came  to  California  in  1853,  one 
of  a  party  of  eight  clergymen  sent  out  as  missionaries  by  the 
Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  arriving  at  San  Francisco, 
March  20,  1853,  on  the  clipper  ship  Trade  JVind,  102  days 
from  New  York  via  Cape  Horn,  one  of  the  record  voyages. 
Mr.  Bell  was  the  first  minister  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Oakland,  organized  March  20.  1853;  he  was  one  of 
the  incorporators  of  the  College  of  California,  predecessor  of 
the  University  of  California,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
the  establishment  of  the  University.  He  was  Chairman  of 
the  first  Republican  Convention  in  1856;  in  1857  and  1858 
represented  Alameda  and  Santa  Clara  in  the  Senate,  and  in 
1859  was  one  of  the  candidates  for  the  Republican  nomina- 
tion for  governor.  Dr.  Bell  was  large,  erect,  and  of  com- 
manding presence  with  a  graceful  carriage;  an  effective 
speaker,  self-denying  and  self-forgetful,  his  influence  and 
usefulness  in  the  community  was  great. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  13 

wheat  was  regularly  quoted  in  the  market  reports  of 
New  York,  and  that  more  than  a  million  dollars  worth 
of  wheat  and  barley  had  been  exported  during  that 
year.  "In  horses  and  mules,"  the  Governor  said, 
"California  was  excelled  by  only  sixteen  states,  in 
cattle  by  seven,  in  wheat  by  nine,  in  barley  by  one; 
in  potatoes  sixteen  produced  less,  and  in  wine  none  so 
much." 

An  agricultural  association  had  been  started  in 
1854,  and  had  held  its  first  exhibit  "in  one  small  room 
in  San  Francisco."  To  make  some  sort  of  show  and 
fill  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  room,  fruits  and  produc- 
tions were  imported  from  other  lands  and  from  the 
isles  of  the  sea,*  and  a  Fiji  islander  in  full  costume 
had  been  exhibited  as  a  principal  attraction.  The 
society  had  prospered,  but  had  no  permanent  home 
until  1859,  its  annual  exhibitions  being  given  some- 
times at  Sacramento,  and  again  at  Marysville  or 
Stockton.  By  i860  it  could  boast  that  one  Californian, 
a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  county,  had  invented  and  was 
manufacturing  one  of  the  best  reaping  machines  in 
the  world,  while  another  at  Alameda  had  contrived  a 
machine  that  reaped,  threshed,  cleaned  and  sacked  the 
grain  all  at  the  same  time. 

The  society  was  also  doing  much  to  encourage  fruit 
growing,  although  lack  of  market,  and  lack  of  appre- 
ciation of  the  value  of  fruits  as  food  among  people 
generally,  retarded  its  progress.  A.  H.  Myers  of 
Alameda  had  brought  some  young  trees  of  various 
kinds  very  early,  probably  the  first  since  the  time 
of  the  padres,  and  J.  Lewelling  of  San  Lorenzo  had 

*Speech  of  Samuel  B.  Bell  above  quoted. 


14  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

brought  the  first  nursery  stock  by  the  overland  route. 
Both  were  doing  something  in  the  nursery  business. 
Louis  Pellier  had  started  a  nursery  near  San  Jose  in 
1849,  and  in  1856  his  brother  Pierre  had  joined  him, 
bringing  from  Europe  a  considerable  supply  of  grape 
cuttings  of  various  varieties,  as  well  as  some  young 
prune  trees,  probably  the  first  to  arrive  in  California. 
In  the  south  William  Wolfskill  and  others  had  long 
been  growing  citrus  fruits,  grapes,  almonds,  and  wal- 
nuts with  success,  though  without  much  profit;  but  by 
1867,  according  to  a  circular  letter  sent  out  by  residents 
of  San  Francisco  in  answer  to  questions  most  frequently 
asked  by  people  seeking  information  about  California,* 
it  is  stated  that  the  farmers  were  then  beginning  to 
dry  and  press  their  fruits  and  ship  them  to  the  Atlantic 
cities.  The  cultivation  of  the  silk  worm  had  also 
been  begun  with  high  expectations  of  success,  which 
however,  were  not  realized. 

Progress  had  also  been  made  in  manufacturing. 
Lumber  was  naturally  among  the  earliest  needs.  The 
miners  required  it  for  their  rockers,  long  toms,  flumes, 
and  sluices,  and  much  larger  quantities  were  required 
in  the  cities  for  building  houses,  wharves,  and  other 
purposes.  The  mills  started  by  Isaac  Graham,  Lassen, 
and  Smith  before  the  discovery  of  gold,  were  too  far 
away  from  the  centers  of  demand  in  1850,  and  had  they 
been  nearer  they  could  have  supplied  only  a  small 
part  of  it.  Puget  Sound  and  Oregon  were  for  a  time 
drawn  upon;  but  their  mills  could  not  supply  the 
needs  of  the  interior  except  at  very  high  prices,  and  so 
mills  were  established  as  early  as  1852  in  San  Mateo, 

*Quoted  by  Ross  Browne  in  Resources  of  the  Pacific  States  and  Territories,  p.  269. 


I 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  15 

and  in  Butte,  Yuba,  Calaveras,  Stanislaus,  and  various 
other  counties.  San  Francisco  was  largely  supplied 
by  four  steam  mills  in  Marin  county  capable  of  sawing 
9,000,000  feet  per  year.  The  eighteen  mills  in  Yuba 
county  produced  nearly  as  much.  There  were  three 
steam  and  eleven  water  mills  in  Butte  county,  while 
mills  for  making  sash  and  door  and  other  finishings 
rapidly  followed. 

Ship  building  was  begun  at  Benicia,  Sausalito, 
Stockton,  and  at  Humboldt  bay  at  a  very  early  day. 
At  Benicia  and  Sacramento  some  small  steamers  were 
also  built.  The  first  ocean  going  steamer  built  in 
California  was  the  Del  Norte,  which  had  eighteen  state 
rooms  and  was  launched  in  December,  1864.  The 
first  carriage  factory  began  business  at  Los  Angeles  in 
1849;  small  shops  for  making  and  repairing  the  heavy 
wagons  for  the  freighters  were  begun  at  Sacramento 
and  Stockton  a  little  later.  A  mill  for  the  manufacture 
of  coarse  woolens  began  business  in  San  Francisco  in 
1 861;  it  was  soon  burned  but  afterwards  rebuilt  and 
became  a  prosperous  institution.  There  was  also  a  rope 
walk  established  in  San  Francisco  in  1866.  The  first 
paper  mill  in  the  state  was  in  Marin  county,  and  began 
business  in  1857.  The  first  iron  works  were  established 
by  the  Donohue  brothers  in  San  Francisco  in  1849. 
Their  establishment  grew  into  the  Union  Iron  Works 
of  the  present  day,  where  the  first  locomotive  built 
in  the  state  was  finished  in  1865,  and  where  some  of  the 
heaviest  and  most  expensive  mining  machinery,  and 
some  of  the  largest  warships  have  since  been  built. 
In  1850,  the  Vulcan  and  Pacific  foundries  were  begun. 
It  is  claimed  that  the  first  miner's  pick  and  the  first 


16  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

iron  plow  made  in  the  state  were  manufactured  at 
Santa  Cruz,  where  a  considerable  amount  of  mining 
implements  were  afterwards  made.  Iron  works  were 
begun  at  Sacramento,  Marysville,  and  Benicia  in  1852, 
and  in  i860  San  Francisco  had  fourteen  foundries  and 
machine  shops  employing  220  men.  Beer  and  vinegar 
were  made  at  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  as  early 
as  1850,  at  Stockton  and  Marysville  in  1851,  and  at 
Los  Angeles  in  1854.  The  demand  for  leather  early 
called  for  the  establishment  of  tanneries  which  found 
material  abundant  and  their  business  very  generally 
prospered.  Stephen  Smith,  who  had  brought  the  first 
steam  engine  to  the  state  and  started  a  saw  mill  and 
grist  mill  at  Bodega  as  already  related,  set  up  a  tannery 
at  that  place  in  1851,  and  tanneries  were  established 
at  many  of  the  interior  towns  as  early  as  1852.  Cooper- 
age and  woodenware  factories  were  also  established 
in  the  early  fifties.  Billiard  tables  were  made  in  San 
Francisco  in  1855,  and  pianos  in  1856.  In  1856, 
forty-two  hundred  barrels  of  flour  were  exported  to 
China;  the  extra  export  of  flour  for  that  year  amounted 
to  116,000  bags. 

Mining  continued  to  be  the  state's  principal  resource 
down  to  1 860  or  possibly  later.  The  yield  of  the  placers 
reached  its  maximum  in  1852  when  the  recorded  out- 
put was  ^81,294,700;  that  for  1854  was  ^69,433,931,* 
after  which  it  steadily  and  somewhat  regularly  declined. 
With  the  decline  of  the  placers  other  kinds  of  mining 
were  prosecuted  by  steadily  improving  methods.  The 
quartz   mines   which  in  i860  yielded  only  $2,000,000 


*  Report  oj  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  191 3.    J.  Ross  Browne  makes  the  output 
for  1855  ^57,300,000  and  thinks  it  the  highest  of  any  year. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  17 

according  to  Browne's  report,  in  1867  produced 
^9,000,000,  while  the  deep  mines  in  which  shafts  or 
tunnels  were  sunk  through  beds  of  clay  or  cement  to 
pay  gravel  yielded  $18,000,000.* 

The  general  progress  of  the  state  was  in  no  way  more 
strikingly  manifested  than  in  the  growth  of  its  cities 
and  towns,  and  the  improvement  in  the  character  of 
their  inhabitants.  Many  of  the  mining  camps  had 
become  prosperous  villages  as  early  as  1855,  although 
some  of  them  which  were  very  prosperous  for  a  time,  with 
well  built  homes,  churches,  and  school  houses  as  well 
as  business  buildings,  were  afterward  entirely  deserted. 
Others  had  a  varying  experience  from  extreme  pros- 
perity to  extreme  depression.  Sonora  which  in  1849 
was  believed  to  have  a  population  of  five  thousand,  had 
perhaps  less  than  half  that  number  a  year  later,  as 
many  of  its  residents  had  been  driven  away  by  the 
oppressive  foreign  miners  tax.  It  subsequently  revived 
and  became  prosperous,  though  suffering  as  the  other 
towns  did  from  occasional  periods  of  depression. 
Nevada  City  and  Grass  Valley  grew  steadily  from  the 
start,  while  towns  which  depended  less  intimately  on 
the  mines  for  their  support,  like  Benicia,  Oakland,  and 
San  Jose,  had  a  generally  steady  growth.  Oakland, 
although  afflicted  as  many  other  towns  were  with 
troublesome  squatters  in  earlier  days,  was  incorporated 
as  a  city  in  1854,  and  boasted  of  a  college  in  1855,  down 
to  which  time  it  had  only  occasional  communication 
with  San  Francisco  by  steamers,  though  soon  after  a 
ferry  boat  making  regular  trips  was  established. 

*  Resources  of  the  Pacific  States  and  Territories,  p.  8. 


18  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Of  all  the  interior  cities  Sacramento  was  easily  first 
for  a  half  a  score  of  years  after  the  gold  discovery.  As 
early  as  1850  it  had  four  banks,  and  it  was  the  center 
of  supply  for  much  the  larger  part  of  the  mining  region. 
In  1855  its  merchants  enjoyed  a  trade  valued  at 
$6,000,000  per  month.  Seven  hundred  teams  were 
employed  in  transporting  goods  from  it  to  other  towns 
and  mining  camps.  In  1853  twenty-three  steamers 
visited  it  more  or  less  regularly,  and  in  1856  twenty- 
four  stage  lines  radiated  from  it  in  all  directions,  while 
its  manufacturing  output  was  valued  at  $300,000  per 
month.  It  was  the  city  most  frequently  visited  by 
miners  from  the  Mokelumne  to  the  Feather  and  even 
farther  north.  They  drew  their  supplies  from  it, 
shipped  their  gold  dust  to  it,  and  visited  it  both  for 
business  and  recreation.  It  was  only  when  they  had 
made  a  particularly  lucky  find,  or  sold  out,  cleaned  up 
and  made  ready  to  return  to  their  friends  in  the  east, 
that  they  went  "down  to  the  bay,"  as  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  speak  of  San  Francisco.  Such  a  trip  was  a 
notable  event  in  their  lives.  It  was  like  going  to 
Europe  or  to  China.  They  expected  to  see  there  things 
not  to  be  found  except  in  the  great  cities  of  the  world, 
and  the  miner  who  had  been  to  "the  bay"  and  returned 
was  as  much  an  object  of  interest,  as  if  he  had  been 
within  speaking  distance  of  the  world  outside. 

Sacramento  had  its  full  share  of  troubles  such  as 
afflicted  San  Francisco,  Stockton,  and  Marysville  and 
the  other  larger  towns.  It  had  its  share  of  thieves 
and  cut  throats,  and  more  than  its  share  of  gamblers. 
It  had  an  extravagant  and  incompetent  government  at 
times.     An  epidemic  of  cholera  carried  off  a  large  num- 


THE    CAPITOL    AT    SACRAMENTO 
From  a  photograph  by  Gabriel  Moulin. 


:a- 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  19 

ber  of  its  inhabitants  in  1850.  It  had  been  overflowed 
by  the  sudden  rise  of  the  river  during  the  rainy  winter 
of  1849-50.  Its  common  council  appropriated  ^250,000 
for  dykes  and  levies  in  the  following  year  and  although 
levees  nine  miles  in  length  and  from  three  to  six  feet 
high  were  built,  they  did  not  protect  it  against  a  similar 
overflow  in  the  winter  of  1854.  Its  squatters  were  par- 
ticularly numerous  and  troublesome.  Many  of  the 
earlier  immigrants  seemed  to  be  wholly  unable  or 
unwilling  to  understand  that  Mexcan  land  grants  were 
valid.  Some  seemed  to  prefer  to  fight  for  a  small  piece 
of  some  grant  rather  than  try  to  gain  peaceable  posses- 
sion of  something  equally  or  almost  equally  good  that 
was  as  yet  unclaimed.  So  there  was  trouble  more  or 
less  continually  in  San  Francisco,  Sacramento,  and 
Stockton,  as  well  as  about  farm  lands,  and  the  trouble 
was  increased  by  various  court  decisions,  until  October, 
1853,  when  a  decision  by  the  Supreme  Court,  confirmed 
the  title  of  cities  as  the  successors  of  pueblos,  to  the 
land  granted  to  them,  and  so  gave  strength  to  all  valid 
Mexican  grants  in  general.* 

Sacramento's  most  diastrous  fire  occurred  on 
November  2,  1852,  when  ^5,000,000  worth  of  property 
was  destroyed,  no  part  of  which  was  insured.  But 
as  in  the  case  of  San  Francisco,  the  cit)^  was  quickly 
rebuilt  and  with  far  better  materials  than  before. 
In  1854  its  real  estate  and  personal  property  were 
assessed  at  ^5,400,000.  In  1853  its  principal  business 
streets  were  planked  and  sewered.  A  regular  water 
supply  system  was  installed  soon  after  the  fire  of  1852, 

*Cohas  vs.  Rosifi  and  Legris — Opinion  by  Justice  S.  Heydenfeldt,  concurred  in 
by  Chief  Justice  Murray  and  Justice  Wells. 


20  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

a  gas  company  began  business  in  1856,  and  as  early  as 
1 861  a  street  railway  began  to  be  talked  about.  It  had 
two  daily  newspapers  in  1852,  public  schools  in  1854 
and  all  of  the  principal  religious  denominations  had 
well  built  churches  as  early  as  1855  or  earlier. 

Stockton  also  had  a  large  patronage  from  the  mines. 
In  1856  its  merchants  claimed  that  an  average  of  two 
hundred  tons  of  freight  were  received  and  distributed 
from  it  every  week.  Seven  stage  lines  made  it  their 
principal  terminus. 

Marysville,  though  suffering  much  from  early  fires 
and  inundations,  claimed  a  population  of  forty-five 
hundred  in  1852,  and  of  eight  thousand  in  1855,  in 
which  year  the  assessed  value  of  its  property  was 
$3,320,000.  It  was  incorporated  in  1851  and  in  i860 
claimed  to  be  the  third  city  in  the  state. 

Placerville,  situated  as  it  was  in  the  center  of  one  of 
the  richest  mining  regions,  had  a  very  rapid  growth 
during  the  earlier  years.  In  1854  it  polled  the  third 
highest  vote  in  the  state.  The  weekly  yield  of  its 
gold  mines  averaged  from  six  thousand  to  eight  thou- 
sand ounces.  Fire  destroyed  a  large  part  of  the  town 
in  1856,  but  like  other  towns  it  was  rapidly  rebuilt. 
With  the  decline  of  surface  mining  its  growth  was  halted 
for  a  time,  but  was  revived  again  by  the  Washoe  mines 
in  i860,  after  which,  being  on  the  main  stage  line 
crossing  the  mountains  to  Nevada,  it  enjoyed  a  number 
of  years  of  continuous  prosperity. 

The  moral  tone  of  San  Francisco  had  been  notably 
improved  as  the  result  of  the  work  of  the  vigilance 
committee  of  1851.  The  worst  of  the  Sydney  coves 
and  other  desperate  characters  had  been  hanged  or 


STOCKTON 

On  his  rancho  Campo  de  los  Franceses  (French  Camp,  in 
the  vernacular),  at  the  head  of  Mormon  Slough,  on  the  San 
Joaquin  river,  Charles  M.  Weber  established  a  little  settle- 
ment in  1847,  and  had  a  town  laid  out  by  Jasper  O'Farrell, 
calling  it  Tuleburg,  and,  after  the  gold  discovery,  opened  a 
store  to  supply  the  southern  mines.  In  1849  he  had  O'Far- 
rell's  survey  extended  by  Major  Richard  P.  Hammond  and 
called  the  town  Stockton.  It  is  now  a  city  of  40,000  popula- 
tion. 


two 


'Mil  isllft 


i8(x? 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  21 

driven  away.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  Australia  and 
the  glowing  reports  received  from  its  mines,  led  many 
of  the  worst  characters  who  had  come  to  California 
from  that  country,  to  return  to  it,  and  many  who  were 
not  much  better  than  they  were,  followed  them. 
Many  honest  and  enterprising  gold  hunters  were  also 
drawn  thither,  and  their  departure  retarded  the 
progress  of  the  state  for  a  time;  but  most  of  them  soon 
returned  after  finding  that  the  Australian  placers  were 
no  richer  than  our  own,  while  a  heavy  foreign  miners 
tax  made  the  prospects  of  profits  very  doubtful. 

By  the  census  taken  by  Secretary  of  State  Van 
Voorhees  in  1852,  San  Francisco  was  shown  to  have  a 
population  of  36,151,  although  many  people  believed  it 
to  be  over  40,000,  which  was  quite  probable  as  the 
enumeration  was  not  very  carefully  made.  There 
was  notably  a  much  larger  number  of  women  among 
these  thousands  than  in  any  previous  year.  Many 
earlier  residents  who  had  probably  not  intended  to 
remain  permanently,  had  sent  for  their  families  and 
most  of  the  later  arrivals  had  brought  theirs,  so  that 
the  proportion  of  women  to  men  seen  in  the  streets 
was  not  far  different  from  that  of  other  cities.  Com- 
modious, well  built,  and  comfortably  furnished  homes 
were  to  be  seen  in  many  of  the  outlying  districts. 
Along  Stockton  street,  then  the  favorite  residence 
neighborhood,  there  were  a  number  of  substantially 
built  brick  residences,  surrounded  by  well  kept  gar- 
dens and  displaying  evidences  of  taste  and  elegance. 
Montgomery,  Kearny,  Clay,  Washington,  Commercial, 
Merchant,  and  other  streets  were  lined  on  either  side 
by  brick  or  stone  buildings,  usually  of  two  stories,  but 


22  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

sometimes    of   three    or   four   and    presented    a    very 
substantial  appearance. 

Theodore  Winthrop,  who  had  been  employed  by  the 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  at  Panama,  visited 
the  city  in  March,  1853  and  in  letters  to  his  family 
described  its  activity  as  "appalling."  On  approaching 
the  Golden  Gate  his  steamer  was  boarded  by  news 
boats  and  its  arrival  was  announced  by  a  succession 
of  telegraphs.  He  was  astonished  to  find  an  array  of 
ships  in  the  harbor  apparently  as  great  as  that  in 
New  York.  They  were  fine  ships,  some  of  them  lying 
out  in  the  stream  while  others  were  blocking  the 
crowded  wharves.  Back  of  them  stretched  an  extent 
of  city  seemingly  interminable.  The  wharf  and  the 
steamers  were  filled  with  people  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  his  steamer,  and  "there  was  far  more  bustle,  and 
noise,  and  throng  than  ever  on  a  similiar  occasion  at 
home."  The  sand  hills  on  the  original  site  of  the  city 
were  being  cut  away  and  the  water  in  front  of  it  filled 
up,  until  an  office  which  once  was  at  the  water  side 
was  now  more  than  a  half  a  mile  inland.  The  portion 
of  the  city  upon  this  filled  ground  was  composed  of 
small  wooden  buildings,  and  further  in  upon  terra 
firma  there  were  many  substantial  edifices  of  brick 
and  stone,  some  being  really  good  in  architecture  and 
appearance.  The  grading  of  the  hills,  still  going  on, 
made  progress  about  the  city  more  or  less  difficult  in 
places,  and  in  making  a  call  he  had  found  the  easiest 
way  of  getting  away,  was  to  step  down  a  sand  bank 
eight  feet  high.  The  city  was  indeed  an  astonishing 
place.  It  seemed  a  realization,  in  rapidity  of  growth 
if  not  in  splendor  of  the  old  time  fairy  tales.     It  was 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  23 

more  alive  at  night  than  during  the  day.  Shops  were 
in  full  blast  and  the  gambling  houses  filled.  Night 
auctions  of  old  clothing  and  new  hats  and  all  kinds  of 
goods  were  common.  The  streets  were  all  covered 
with  wood,  and  as  one  walked  along  upon  a  very 
wet  footing,  enormously  thick  boots  were  necessary. 
Except  the  unfinished  state  of  everything,  there  was 
no  air  of  a  new  place  about  San  Francisco.  The  men 
were  all  well  dressed,  and  looked  as  if  they  had  seen 
the  world.  The  shops  were  handsome  within  and  the 
display  of  goods  sometimes  brilliant.  The  restaurants 
were  furnished  handsomely,  and  more  in  the  European 
style  than  he  had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  Boston. 
People  In  business  lived  luxuriously  and  worked  hard. 
"The  general  tone  of  the  city  is  bricky  and  dusty,"  he 
says,  "almost  all  the  new  buildings  being  substantial 
fire  proof  structures.  It  may  safely  be  called  the 
dirtiest  place  in  the  world.  A  single  day  will  trans- 
form it  from  a  slough  navigable  only  in  a  pair  of  gaff 
topsail  boots,  to  an  ankle  deep  dustpan;  and  when  you 
consider  that  in  all  the  immense  street  traffic  there  is 
hardly  a  half  block  where  there  is  not  cutting  or  filling 
or  pulling  down,  you  may  imagine  that  the  springy  plank 
pavements  send  up  dust  thicker  than  a  London  fog." 
His  second  Sunday  in  California  was  spent  at  Benicia 
where  he  says  "some  people  interested  in  real  estate, 
had  persuaded  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company 
to  establish  its  depot,  bribing  it  by  the  present  of  a 
tule  ground  or  peat  bog,  and  the  company  had  wasted 
enormous  sums  in  establishing  its  works  there.* 

*The    Canoe    and    the    Saddle,   republished   by     John   H.   Williams,   Tacoma, 
Washington,  191 3. 


24  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORxNIA 

So  much  digging  down  and  filling  in,  together  with 
the  excavating  for  new  and  more  substantial  buildings 
that  was  going  on  here  and  there  left  many  sunken 
spots  that  became  ponds  when  filled  by  the  winter 
rains.  They  were  also  catch  basins  for  all  sorts  of 
unwholesome  things,  which  made  them  not  only 
offensive  but  a  dangerous  menace  to  the  public  health. 
The  town  was  also  infested  with  rats — "huge,  fat  lazy 
things,"  and  "pedestrians  at  night,  stumbHng  along 
the  uneven  pavements,  that  were  only  a  series  of  quag- 
mires, would  occasionally  tread  on  the  loathsome 
things  and  start  back  in  disgust  and  horror,  muttering 
a  curse  or  two  at  such  a  villainously  unclean  town." 

But  this  state  of  things  soon  passed  away  after  the 
down  town  grades  were  corrected.  The  unwholesome 
pools  were  filled  up,  the  streets  drained  by  permanent 
sewers,  and  the  rats  banished  by  the  removal  of  the 
offal  and  other  rubbish  on  which  they  fed.*  A  per- 
manent water  supply  system  was  in  prospect,  though  its 
completion  was  delayed  by  various  untoward  circum- 
stances. A  water  company  had  been  chartered  in 
June,  1 85 1,  but  work  was  not  actually  begun  until 
May  14,  1854.  Even  then  it  was  not  continued 
uninterruptedly,  and  water  from  Lobos  Creek — the 
first  regularly  supplied — was  delivered  in  1858.  Mean- 
time the  city  was  supplied,  as  it  had  been  in  its  earlier 
days  by  water  from  springs  and  artesian  wells,  and 
finally  by  tank  steamers  which  brought  a  steadily 
increasing  amount  of  it  from  springs  near  Sausalito. 

The  city  was  first  lighted  by  gas  on  the  evening  of 
February  11,  1854,  and  the  event  was  celebrated  by  a 

*  Annals  of  San  Francisco,  p.  419. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  25 

banquet  at  the  Oriental  hotel  for  which  some  several 
hundred  covers  were  laid.  The  price  of  gas  was  at 
first  fifteen  dollars  per  thousand  feet.  Previous  to  its 
introduction  the  streets  had  been  lighted  only  by  a  few 
oil  lamps,  and  by  the  glare  from  the  shop  windows. 
The  first  of  these  lamps  were  erected  in  Merchant 
street  in  1850,  and  the  light  furnished  was  paid  for  by 
private  subscription.  Early  in  1852  ninety  lamps  were 
erected  in  Montgomery,  Clay,  Washington,  and  Com- 
mercial streets,  and  later  in  the  year  Battery,  Kearny, 
Jackson,  and  California  streets  were  lighted. 

During  all  these  earlier  years  from  1851  to  1856  one 
might  meet  in  the  streets  people  from  every  quarter 
of  the  globe,  each  wearing  the  garb  of  his  country. 
Unshaven  and  unkempt  miners  were  there  but  they 
did  not  predominate.  Business  men  were  better  and 
more  carefully  dressed,  and  they  no  longer  resorted 
to  the  gambling  houses  or  saloons  to  confer  together 
as  they  had  formerly  done.  Gambling  was  not 
carried  on  as  openly  as  before.  The  El  Dorado,  the 
Bella  Union,  Dennison's  and  similar  places  did  not 
flaunt  their  attractions  in  the  faces  of  every  passer  by, 
or  attract  visitors  by  bands  of  music.  Business  men 
resorted  to  the  Merchants  Exchange  for  such  informa- 
tion as  was  gathered  there  from  incoming  ships;  met 
their  out  of  town  customers  in  the  lobbies  of  numerous 
well  appointed  hotels,  or  entertained  them  at  one  or 
another  of  half  a  dozen  theatres.  The  Exchange  had 
then  just  taken  possession  of  its  new  and  commodious 
building  on  Battery  street  between  Washington  and 
Jackson,  while  across  the  way  was  the  new  custom 
house.     In   March,    1852,   a   public   library  had   been 


26  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

opened  by  the  Mercantile  Library  Association,  with 
about  1,500  volumes  on  its  shelves,  most  or  all  of  which 
had  been  contributed  by  subscribers,  who  had  also 
provided  funds  for  its  maintenance.  All  the  city  news- 
papers, as  well  as  many  published  in  the  east  were  kept 
on  file  for  the  general  benefit  of  subscribers.  Occasional 
lectures  and  readings  were  given  there,  and  debates 
were  held  on  political  and  other  subjects.  A  year  later 
the  number  of  books  had  increased  to  3,000  and  the 
institution  was  becoming  popular. 

The  city  council  had  purchased  the  Jenny  Lind 
Theatre  on  Kearny  street  opposite  Portsmouth  Square 
in  June,  1852,  against  the  vigorous  protest  of  most  tax 
payers,  paying  ^200,000  for  it,  afterward  remodeling  it 
at  very  great  cost;  and  changing  administrations  carried 
on  the  government  from  that  costly  center  about  as 
incompetently  and  extravagantly  as  formerly.  Follow- 
ing the  rearrangement  of  the  government  under  the  new 
charter  of  1851,  the  city's  expenses  had  been  reduced 
from  about  ^1,700,000  to  ^340,000  annually,  and  a  part 
of  its  debt  paid,  though  at  the  cost  of  increased  taxation. 
The  reform,  however,  was  short  lived;  the  citizens 
became  negligent  of  their  duties,  and  spoilsmen  soon 
regained  control.  City  and  county  expenses  were 
quickly  increased  to  the  former  figure;  but  as  the  gold 
output  for  the  year  1852  was  the  largest  in  the  history 
of  the  state,  business  prospered  accordingly,  and  people 
paid  rather  than  take  the  trouble  to  elect  better  men  to 
office  when  occasion  offered.  By  1854  things  had 
become  about  as  bad  as  they  could  be  without  provok- 
ing a  popular  uprising.  It  was  in  that  year  that  Henry 
Aleiggs — "Honest  Harry,"  as  he  was  called — was  a 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  27 

member  of  the  council.  He  was  a  lumberman,  con- 
trolling a  mill  in  Mendocino  county  and  a  yard  at 
North  Beach.  Through  his  efforts  as  a  councilman 
much  public  work  was  done  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  particularly  on  Powell  and  Stockton  streets.  He 
cut  a  road  around  Telegraph  hill  from  Clark's  point 
to  his  lumber  yard,  and  also  built  a  wharf  two  thousand 
feet  long,  extending  to  deep  water,  in  an  effort  to  con- 
vince the  people  that  North  Beach,  near  which  he  had 
large  holdings  of  real  estate,  would  be  a  prosperous 
part  if  not  in  fact  the  real  center  of  the  city.  His 
enterprise  might  have  prospered  had  the  flush  times  of 
1853  continued,  but  unfortunately,  they  did  not.  A 
period  of  depression  began  in  1854  and  he  was  unable 
to  borrow  the  money  needed  to  carry  on  his  numerous 
undertakings  by  any  honest  means;  and  the  careless 
manner  in  which  the  city's  business  was  conducted 
opened  an  easy  way  to  get  it  dishonestly.  Most  of  the 
street  improvements  and  other  public  works  were  paid 
for  in  city  warrants,  and  these  warrants  were  sometimes 
signed  in  blank  in  considerable  numbers.  As  a  city 
official  Meiggs  was  naturally  about  the  city  offices  a 
great  deal,  and  he  easily  procured  enough  of  these 
signed  warrants  which  he  used  as  collateral  for  loans, 
to  meet  his  necessities.  But  the  rate  of  interest 
demanded — sometimes  ten  per  cent  a  month — increased 
his  demands  so  rapidly  that  exposure,  which  was  inevi- 
table from  the  first,  soon  became  imminent,  and  to 
avoid  facing  it,  he  left  the  country  on  the  night  of 
October  6,  1854,  accompanied  by  his  family.  He  was 
next  heard  of  in  Chile  and  then  in  Peru,  where  he 
subsequently  made  a  large  fortune  by  railroad  building, 


28  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

bought  up  the  claims  of  many,  if  not  all  his  San  Fran- 
cisco creditors,  and  sought  to  arrange  matters  so  that 
he  might  escape  arrest  and  prosecution  if  he  returned 
to  California,  but  in  this  he  never  succeeded.  A  sus- 
ceptible legislature  in  1874  Passed  an  act  directing  all 
indictments  against  him  to  be  dismissed,  and  forbidding 
that  any  others  be  found;  but  Governor  Booth  vetoed 
it,  and  although  it  was  passed  over  the  veto,  Meiggs 
was  too  fond  of  his  liberty,  which  a  vast  fortune  accu- 
mulated in  railroad  building  had  made  more  than  ever 
agreeable,  ever  to  venture  to  take  advantage  of  it. 

The  business  center  of  the  city  continued  to  be  north 
of  California  street  during  most  of  the  first  decade  of 
its  existence.  Market  street  was  a  desert  region  and 
long  ended  at  the  huge  hill  of  sand  which  a  steam  shovel 
laboriously  struggled  to  remove.  South  of  it  was  the 
chief  manufacturing  center,  where  new  industries  were 
steadily  added  to  the  old,  giving  it  an  air  of  great 
activity.  Rincon  hill  was  gradually  taking  on  the 
character  of  a  favorite  residence  district,  and  giving 
promise  at  no  distant  day  to  rival  Stockton  street. 

The  first  apportionment  of  state  funds  for  school 
purposes  was  made  in  1854,  though  schools  had  been 
established  in  most  towns,  and  even  in  many  mining 
camps  much  earlier.  There  was  a  private  school  in 
San  Francisco  as  early  as  1847,  and  a  school  house  was 
erected  on  Portsmouth  Square  in  1848.  The  first 
school  ordinance  in  San  Francisco  was  adopted  in 
April,  1850,  and  by  another  ordinance  in  1851  the  city 
was  divided  into  seven  school  districts.  Three  schools 
were  opened  in  this  year  with  James  Denman,  E.  Jones 
and  J.  Tracy  as  principals.     One  of  these  was  exclu- 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  29 

sively  for  boys  and  another  for  girls.  The  boys'  school 
was  on  Fifth  street  near  Market  and  became  the 
Lincoln,  while  the  school  for  girls  was  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Mason  and  Bush  streets  and  was  named  for 
Denman.  These  were  both  famous  schools  in  their 
time;  the  buildings  were  burned  in  1906.  The  fine  new 
Denman  school  is  now  at  the  corner  of  Hayes  and  Pierce 
streets.  A  public  school  was  opened  in  Monterey  in 
1849  by  Reverend  S.  H.  Willey.  There  were  schools  at 
Santa  Barbara  in  1850,  and  at  Los  Angeles,  Benicia, 
Sonoma,  and  Stockton  in  1851. 

^y  1855  planking  in  the  principal  streets  of  the 
business  district  began  to  give  way  to  more  substantial 
pavements.  These  at  first  were  made  of  cobble  stones, 
as  in  most  eastern  cities  at  that  time,  rough  and  very 
noisy  it  is  true,  but  very  durable,  easily  drained,  and 
free  from  the  noisome  odors  that  are  inseparable  from 
rotting  planks.  Portsmouth  Square,  an  unkempt  and 
untidy  place  as  it  came  to  be  after  the  numerous  fires 
which  began  and  raged  in  its  neighborhood  in  1850-51, 
was  swept,  graded,  and  generally  put  to  rights  about 
the  time  that  planks  began  to  give  way  to  permanent 
pavements,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  the  city's 
principal  park. 

An  omnibus  line  carrying  passengers  over  the  planked 
roads  between  the  city  and  the  mission  began  business 
in  1852,  and  after  Harry  Meiggs  had  opened  his  road 
around  Telegraph  hill  to  North  Beach,  the  stages  of 
another  line  made  regular  trips  over  it.  Other  lines 
were  established  gradually  as  there  was  need  for  them, 
and  these  furnished  the  only  means  of  regular  commu- 


30  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

nication  between  the  business  part  of  the  city  and  its 
outlying  districts  until  1863  when  the  first  street  car 
line  was  established. 

During  these  earlier  years  the  market  was  at  times 
largely  overstocked  with  certain  lines  of  goods,  while  in 
others  stocks  would  be  wholly  exhausted.  The  supply 
of  print  paper  ran  so  short  at  one  time  that  all  the  news- 
papers were  reduced  in  size,  and  some  were  printed  for  a 
few  days  on  any  kind  of  paper  that  could  be  procured. 
Wide  awake  traders  sometimes  made  handsome  profits 
by  watching  the  stocks  of  staple  articles,  buying  up  all 
that  could  be  had  of  those  that  were  running  low  and 
so  cornering  the  market.  One  of  these  is  reported  to 
have  made  a  handsome  profit  on  candle  wicking  at  one 
time;  another  boarded  an  incoming  ship  before  it 
entered  the  harbor  and  bought  all  the  miner's  shirts 
in  its  cargo.  So  much  time  was  required  for  goods  to 
make  the  long  voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  that  mer- 
chants were  often  unable  to  supply  all  the  demands  of 
their  customers,  though  after  the  Panama  railroad  was 
completed  and  the  clipper  ships  in  operation,  orders 
could  be  sent  by  one  route  and  goods  returned  by  the 
other  in  half  the  time  formerly  consumed,  and  their 
troubles  were  very  much  lessened. 

In  1854  the  work  of  fortifying  the  harbor  was  begun. 
Down  to  that  time  the  city  had  no  better  means  of 
defense  against  a  foreign  attack  than  that  afforded  by 
the  ancient  Castillo  de  San  Joaquin  and  its  antiquated 
and  well  rusted  cannon  which  Fremont  had  spiked  so 
valorously  in  1846;  and  some  batteries  of  light  guns 
sent  out  by  way  of  Cape  Horn  and  placed  at  various 
points  along  the  shore  of  the  bay  and  harbor.     The 


CASTILLO  DE  SAN  JOAQUIN  IN  1852 

Note  the  Cantll  Blanco  surmounted  by  the  Castillo  de  San 
Joaquin.  Reproduced  from  Bartlett's  Narrative  for  "The 
Beginnings  of  San  Francisco." 


Sc^V'MI  MIUCXAOl  MAS  30  OfclJJfit/ 


''■.o'j2l:jnfii'5  n 


P  ail 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  31 

new  works  were  to  consist  of  a  fortress  of  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  eight  and  ten  inch  guns  at  Fort  point; 
another  of  one  hundred  guns  on  Lime  point  opposite, 
and  an  inner  line  to  consist  of  batteries  at  Black  point, 
Alcatraz,  and  Angel  Islands. 

The  branch  mint,  for  which  an  appropriation  had 
been  made  in  1852  but  diverted  to  another  purpose,  was 
established  in  1854  In  a  brick  building  sixty  feet  square 
and  three  stories  high,  on  Commercial  street  between 
Montgomery  and  Kearny.  It  was  provided  with 
machinery  capable  of  coining  ^2,500,000  per  month, 
and  began  operations  on  April  3d.  The  coins  it  turned 
out  rapidly  replaced  those  then  in  circulation,  which 
were  perhaps  of  a  more  miscellaneous  character  than 
could  then  or  since  be  found  in  any  other  place  on  earth. 
Besides  the  American,  English,  French,  and  Spanish 
coins  there  were  Indian  rupees,  Dutch  and  German  florins 
and  guilders,  and  gold  and  silver  coins  from  various 
American  states.  Spanish  pesetas  worth  nineteen  cents, 
French  franc  pieces  worth  about  twenty  cents,  the 
English  shilling,  the  Mexican  double  real  and  American 
quarter  dollar  all  passed  current  as  of  equal  value;  the 
Indian  rupee,  worth  forty-three  cents,  was  readily  taken 
for  half  a  dollar,  and  the  English  crown,  French  five 
franc  piece,  Mexican  and  American  dollars,  were  all 
dollars.  The  smaller  coins  of  all  countries  were  all  alike 
bits.  There  were  no  copper  coins,  and  nothing  was 
bought  or  sold  for  less  than  a  bit.  When  American 
dimes  and  five  cent  pieces  began  to  circulate,  a  pur- 
chaser buying  anything  valued  at  a  bit  and  giving  a 
two  bit  piece  in  payment,  got  back  a  dime  or  short  bit 
in  change,  the  seller  retaining  the  long  bit,  or  fifteen 


32  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

cents  for  his  part.  This  was  the  every  day  custom  and 
was  never  questioned  except  by  newcomers  not  yet 
acquainted  with  it;  but  any  one  making  a  purchase  of 
the  value  of  two  bits  and  tendering  two  dimes  in  pay- 
ment was  looked  upon  as  attempting  to  take  an  unfair 
advantage,  and  his  patronage  was  not  sought  after. 

More  than  four  years  went  by  after  the  arrival  of  the 
California,  before  any  noteworthy  mishap  occurred  to 
a  vessel  attempting  to  enter  or  leave  the  Golden  Gate, 
although  no  light  houses  had  yet  been  established,  and 
few  of  those  other  aids  to  navigation  on  which  mariners 
rely  had  been  provided.  The  work  of  surveying  and 
charting  the  coast  had  been  begun  in  1849,  but  with 
inadequate  means  for  an  undertaking  of  such  magnitude 
and  for  which  there  was  such  pressing  need,  and  it  was 
much  interrupted  and  delayed  by  the  disturbed 
conditions  which  then  prevailed. 

So  slow  in  fact  was  the  government  in  providing  even 
what  was  most  urgently  needed,  that  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company  maintained  a  siren  at  Point  Lobos 
for  a  number  of  years  at  its  own  cost.  Until  this  siren 
was  established  ships  had  absolutely  no  artificial  help 
to  quide  them  to  the  entrance  in  thick  weather,  but  all 
passed  in  and  out  safely  until  the  morning  of  April  6, 
^85 3)  when  the  Tennessee,  a  Pacific  Mail  steamer  from 
Panama,  with  about  six  hundred  passengers  on  board, 
went  on  the  beach  at  what  has  since  been  known  as 
Tennessee  cove.  Only  a  little  more  than  a  month  later 
the  Lewis  of  the  Nicaragua  line,  with  three  hundred 
and  eighty-five  passengers,  among  whom  was  Captain, 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  33 

afterward  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  went  ashore  about 
six  miles  farther  north.  All  the  passengers  of  both 
ships  were  saved,  though  the  ships  were  lost. 

It  was  not  until  the  following  year  that  the  first  light 
houses  on  the  coast  were  established — one  at  the  south- 
east Farallone  and  one  on  Alcatraz  island.  In  1855 
the  light  houses  at  Fort  Point  and  Point  Boneta  were 
established — the  light  at  the  former  being  exhibited  for 
the  first  time  on  the  evening  of  March  21st  and  that 
from  the  latter  on  April  30th.*  A  bell  boat  was  placed 
outside  the  bar  in  March,  1858.  The  light  at  Point 
Reyes  shone  for  the  first  time  in  December,  1870,  and 
that  on  Yerba  Buena  island  in  1875.  It  had  been 
planned  to  exhibit  the  first  light  from  Point  Conception, 
but  the  lens  sent  out  was  not  of  the  kind  ordered  and 
the  light  was  not  shown  until  February  i,  1856.  A 
light  was  shown  at  Santa  Barbara  on  December  ist  of 
the  same  year. 

In  subsequent  years  several  notable  disasters  occurred 
some  of  which  were  attended  with  great  loss  of  life  and 
treasure.  On  August  30,  1854,  the  steamer  Yankee 
Blade  left  San  Francisco  with  eight  hundred  and  nine- 
teen passengers,  including  thirty-two  women  and  thirty- 
one  children,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  following, 
in  a  dense  fog,  ran  on  the  rocks  at  Point  Argiiello. 
All  the  passengers  and  crew  except  eighteen  who  were 
drowned  in  launching  the  first  boat  were  taken  off  in 
safety. 

The  steamer  Central  America,  carrying  four  hundred 
and  seventy-five  returning  Californians,  and  $1,500,000 
in  treasure,  was  wrecked  during  a  storm  off  the  coast 

*Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1858,  pages  330,  332. 


34  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  Florida,  In  1857,  while  on  the  way  from  Panama  to 
New  York,  and  four  hundred  and  eighteen  lives  were 
lost,  the  women  and  children  and  four  men  being 
rescued  by  a  passing  ship. 

A  more  distressing  disaster  occurred  in  February, 
1862,  when  the  steamer  Golden  Gate  was  burned  at  sea 
on  Sunday,  February  27th,  while  en  route  to  Panama. 
She  had  two  hundred  and  forty-two  passengers  on 
board,  twenty-seven  of  whom  were  children,  a  crew  of 
ninety-six  and  ^1,400,000  in  gold.  The  lire  began  late 
in  the  afternoon  while  many  of  the  passengers  were  at 
dinner,  and  was  announced  to  Captain  Hudson  while 
at  table.  Captain  Pearson,  an  experienced  officer,  was 
also  on  board,  and  at  Captain  Hudson's  request,  sought 
out  the  fire  and  took  charge  of  those  who  were  fighting 
it,  while  Hudson  turned  the  ship  directly  for  the  shore 
only  three  or  four  miles  distant,  ordering  all  the  passen- 
gers into  the  forward  part  of  it.  Only  a  gentle  breeze 
was  blowing  and  the  sea  was  reasonably  calm.  Before 
his  order  could  be  obeyed  by  all,  the  fire  broke  out 
amidships  and  those  in  the  after  part,  nearly  one-half 
of  the  whole,  as  is  supposed,  were  gradually  forced  to 
jump  into  the  sea  or  be  burned  alive.  Only  five  of  the 
ship's  ten  boats  could  be  reached — as  the  flames  cut 
off  all  access  to  the  others — and  with  these  only  eighty 
lives  were  saved  after  the  vessel  was  run  on  the  beach 
three  hundred  yards  from  shore. 

The  steamer  Brother  Jonathan,  while  on  the  way  from 
San  Francisco  to  Portland,  Oregon,  struck  a  sunken 
rock  off  Crescent  City  on  July  30,  1865,  and  went  down 
with  all  on  board — one  hundred  and  nine  passengers 
and  a  crew  of  fifty-four.     Among  the  passengers  were 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  35 

James  Nisbet  of  the  "Bulletin"  and  General  George 
Wright  who  had  been  in  command  on  the  coast  during 
the  war.  The  general  was  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
and  as  the  ship  sank  was  seen  by  persons  on  shore  to 
wrap  his  coat  about  her  and  sink  beneath  the  waves 
while  holding  her  in  his  arms. 

The  flush  times  of  1853  were  followed  by  a  period  of 
depression,  beginning  in  1854  and  ending  in  disaster  for 
many  who  had  believed  themselves  to  be  wealthy. 
The  yield  of  gold  from  the  placers  had  begun  to  decline 
in  1853.  Fewer  immigrants  arrived  that  year,  while  a 
change  of  employment  from  mining  to  farming  on  the 
part  of  many  who  had  previously  arrived,  reduced 
the  demand  for  food  supplies  from  abroad,  and  so  left 
many  who  had  formerly  made  money  by  importing 
them  with  large  stocks  on  their  hands  that  were  no 
longer  salable.  All  this  brought  about  a  change  in 
business  methods  and  conditions  for  which  many  beside 
the  provision  merchants  were  unprepared.  Prices  were 
gradually  falling  to  a  natural  level,  and  surplus  stocks 
offered  at  auction  were  sometimes  unsalable.  The  clip- 
per ship  Bald  Eagle  and  other  vessels  were  reloaded 
with  goods  similar  to  those  they  had  brought  out 
and  returned  to  New  York.  Handsome  store  rooms  and 
offices  in  buildings  recently  erected,  which  had  been  in 
great  demand  and  at  high  prices  a  year  earlier,  were 
vacated  by  tenants  who  could  no  longer  pay  for  them. 
Failures  began  to  be  common  and  their  number  grad- 
ually increased.  Only  the  strongest  had  any  credit  left 
and  they  had  but  little.  Real  estate  values  shrank 
until  only  revenue  producing  property  could  be  said 
to  have  a  value.     Nevertheless  the  outlying  districts 


36  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

continued  to  be  infested  with  squatters  and  contests 
between  them  and  real  owners  of  the  property  were 
frequent,  sometimes  resulting  in  bloodshed. 

Things  grew  gradually  worse  until  finally  the  banks 
began  to  fail  and  a  general  panic  followed.  The  consti- 
tution of  the  state  had  forbidden  the  chartering  of 
corporations  for  banking  purposes,  though  it  permitted 
associations  to  be  formed  under  general  laws  for  the 
deposit  of  gold  dust  and  silver;  consequently  the  only 
banks  were  individual  or  partnership  concerns,  some  of 
them  branches  of  eastern  houses.  In  1855  the  most 
prominent  of  these  banking  firms  were  Page,  Bacon, 
and  Company,  and  Lucas,  Turner,  and  Company, 
branches  of  St.  Louis  banks,  Adams  and  Company,  sup- 
posed to  have  some  relation  with  a  Boston  company  or 
firm  of  similar  name.  Palmer,  Cook,  and  Company, 
Drexel,  Sather,  and  Church,  Sanders  and  Brenham, 
Corrothers,  Anderson,  and  Company,  Wright  and 
Company,  and  Robinson  and  Company,  the  latter 
doing  a  savings  business.* 

On  February  17,  1855,  the  mail  steamer  brought  news 
that  the  firm  of  Page,  Bacon,  and  Company,  of  St. 
Louis  was  in  trouble,  and  almost  immediately  a  run 
began  on  the  San  Francisco  house.  On  the  22d  it  gave 
notice  that  for  want  of  coin  its  managers  had  found  it 
necessary  to  close  It  down  temporarily.  It  was  now 
apparent  that  all  the  other  banks  would  be  put  to  the 
test,  and  all  prepared  for  it  as  they  could.  Adams  and 
Company,  with  its  large  express  as  well  as  banking 
business,  with  branches  in  most  of  the  principal  towns 

*For  a  more  detailed  history  of  early  banks  and  banking  in  California,  sec 
Chapter  XIX,  Vol.  V. 


LLOYD  TEVIS 
Born  at  Shelby ville,  Kentucky,  March  20,  1824;  came  to 
California,  overland,  in  1849.  Mr.  Tevis  was  a  financier  of 
marked  ability  and  was  associated  with  James  B.  Haggin. 
He  was,  for  many  years,  president  of  Wells  Fargo  and  Com- 
pany. 


irch. 


iC  bank; 


ompan 


o  ihc 


0 


-^'(A-OO 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  37 

in  the  interior,  did  not  open  on  the  23d.  Legal  pro- 
ceedings of  various  kinds  were  begun,  presumably  with 
the  object  of  conserving  the  resources  of  the  concern 
for  the  benefit  of  its  creditors,  but  in  the  end  they  were 
consumed  in  costly  litigation  lasting  through  several 
years,  and  the  creditors  got  nothing.  Page,  Bacon,  and 
Company  made  an  effort  to  reopen,  but  at  the  end  of  a 
little  more  than  a  month  closed  permanently.  Some  of 
the  other  and  smaller  houses  went  to  the  wall,  and  some 
of  the  larger  ones  were  so  weakened  that  they  were 
finally  compelled  to  retire  from  business. 

This  panic  caused  the  suspension  of  one  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  business  houses  in  the  city,  with  liabilities 
approximating  ^8,000,000. 

It  will  be  difficult  to  point  to  another  city  in  all 
history  whose  people  were  called  upon  to  face  such  a 
succession  of  calamities  as  those  which  followed  each 
other  so  rapidly  in  the  first  decade  of  San  Francisco's 
existence.  It  is  certain  that  no  people  could  have  met 
them  more  courageously  or  more  triumphantly.  Over- 
run by  lawless  brigands  in  1849  and  without  any  govern- 
mental authority  to  oppose  them,  they  had  suspended 
their  ordinary  pursuits  for  the  moment,  and  driven  them 
into  exile.  Swept  as  their  city  was  in  1850-51  by  one 
fire  after  another  until  considerable  parts  of  it  had  been 
laid  in  ashes,  involving  losses  of  more  than  ^20,000,000 
without  insurance,  they  rebuilt  it  again  and  again,  and 
each  time  more  substantially  than  before.  Twice  again 
when  nearly  overrun  by  the  lawless  element,  they  rose 
equal  to  the  occasion,  assumed  temporarily  the  duties 
which  incompetent  or  corrupt  officials  failed  to  perform; 
and  though  without  the  sanction  of  law,  yet  with  all 


I.  di  ^  .L\}<) 


38  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

its  calmness,  moderation,  and  justice,  punished  the 
guilty,  and  purged  the  Augean  haunts  of  corruption 
completely.  And  finally  when  burdened  with  a  volume 
of  debt  greater  than  a  city  of  twice  their  number  could 
have  safely  assumed,  even  for  useful  purposes,  they 
were  brought  face  to  face  with  a  financial  panic  that 
lessened  their  numbers  and  reduced  the  ability  to  pay 
of  those  who  survived  it;  and  yet  they  had  no  thought  of 
avoiding  responsibilities,  or  lightening  their  burdens  by 
any  other  means  than  honest  payment.  It  is  to  the 
everlasting  credit  of  San  Francisco  and  California,  that 
their  people,  in  1857,  when  called  upon  to  declare, 
by  their  votes,  whether  they  would  pay  or  repudiate 
debts  incurred  in  their  names,  decided  by  overwhelming 
majorities  to  refund  and  pay. 

Both  city  and  state  suffered  a  considerable  loss  of 
population  in  1858,  by  one  of  those  rushes  to  newly 
discovered  mines,  like  that  of  an  earlier  time  to  Gold 
Lake,  Gold  Bluff  and  other  places  with  more  or  less 
golden  and  delusive  names.  One  day  in  the  spring  of 
that  year  a  ship  arrived  from  Puget  Sound  with  copies 
of  the  Steilacoom  "Herald"  containing  some  accounts 
brought  by  returning  prospectors  of  wonderful  placers 
recently  discovered  on  Fraser  river  in  British  Columbia. 
There  were  many  idle  men  in  California  at  that  time, 
most  of  whom  had  not  succeeded  as  they  had  hoped, 
in  the  now  rapidly  failing  placers  in  California.  Some 
had  already  turned  their  attention,  or  were  about  to 
turn  it  to  farming,  some  were  hardly  doing  more  than 
earning  a  living  at  other  employments,  and  some  were 
wholly  idle.  These  greedily  bought  copies  of  this  paper 
at  one  dollar  each,  and  sometimes  resold  them  at  an 


HAYES  VALLEY,  SAX  FRANCISCO,  IX  1862 
From  a  lithograph  in  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum 

The  site  was  the  rancho  of  Colonel  Thomas  Hayes  and  was 
long  a  recreation  park  for  the  people  of  San  Francisco.  It  is 
now  the  site  of  the  Civic  Center. 


.5  oy 

the 

that 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  39 

even  higher  price.  In  a  week  or  two  later  issues  of  the 
paper,  and  even  proof  sheets  hastily  taken  from  the  type 
as  the  ship  that  brought  them  was  leaving  the  north, 
sold  for  five  dollars  each.  No  reported  discovery  had 
attracted  so  much  attention  since  the  days  of  Gold  Bluff 
and  soon  every  steamer  going  northward  and  many  sail- 
ing vessels  were  carrying  prospectors  by  the  hundreds  to 
the  new  fields.  It  has  been  estimated  that  no  less  than 
23,000,  or  six  per  cent  of  the  total  population  tempora- 
rily left  California  to  explore  these  new  fields,  which 
within  a  few  months  proved  like  others  to  be  greenest 
when  far  away,  and  the  disappointed  gold  seekers 
gradually  returned. 

The  state  had  also  been  more  or  less  disturbed  by 
filibustering  expeditions  fitted  out  in  it  for  enterprises 
against  Mexico  and  Central  America,  and  had  suffered 
some  loss  of  population  on  account  of  them.  These 
expeditions  had  various  purposes,  some  of  which  were 
not  very  clearly  defined,  and  in  some  cases  no  doubt 
those  who  engaged  in  them  did  not  fully  understand 
them.  They  engaged  attention  on  both  sides  of  the 
continent  and  aroused  some  anxiety  also,  for  the  reason 
that  they  were  either  known  or  suspected  to  have  some 
design  to  extend  the  slave  territory  of  the  United  States. 

The  first  of  these  enterprises  was  organized  in  the 
southern  counties  of  the  state  by  Joseph  C.  Morehouse, 
who  had  been  a  quartermaster  in  the  Glanton  War  on 
the  Colorado  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1850,  in 
which  something  over  seventy-five  thousand  dollars 
had  been  expended  without  seriously  endangering  the 
life  or  comfort  of  any  Indians.  In  the  following  year 
Morehouse  enlisted  forty  or  fifty  men  for  a  campaign 


40  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

in  Sonora,  in  which  he  intended  to  join  one  of  the 
fighting  factions  and  win  either  glory  or  money,  or 
possibly  both;  but  the  enterprise  ended  In  failure. 

Two  other  expeditions  were  organized  by  Frenchmen 
in  San  Francisco  during  185 1-3.  They  were  composed 
largely  of  French  miners  who  had  not  realized  their 
expectations  in  the  mines,  were  out  of  employment, 
and  disposed  to  attribute  their  want  of  success  to  the 
foreign  miners  tax,  or  any  other  thing  than  their  own 
faults.  The  leaders  of  these  enterprises  were  Count  de 
Pindray  and  Count  Gaston  Raoul  de  Raousset-Boulbon. 
They  persuaded  their  followers  that  rich  mines  might 
be  found  in  northern  Sonora,  as  well  as  excellent  farm- 
ing lands,  and  that  they  might  win  the  free  use,  or  fee 
simple  title  to  both,  by  forming  a  bulwark  for  the 
defenseless  Mexicans  against  the  Apaches.  Raousset 
— and  possibly  Pindray  also — really  planned  to  plant 
a  permanent  French  colony  in  the  border  land  between 
Mexico  and  the  United  States,  that  should  somehow 
be  helpful  to  the  Emperor  Louis  Napoleon. 

Pindray  set  off  first  with  one  hundred  and  forty  men, 
going  by  sea  to  Guaymas  where  they  were  at  first 
received  with  favor,  but  soon  after  the  Mexicans 
became  suspicious  and  Pindray  was  found  dead  one 
morning  with  a  bullet  in  his  head,  and  his  party 
disbanded. 

Raousset  was  more  fortunate  for  a  time.  Through 
the  active  efforts  of  the  French  consul  at  San  Francisco, 
and  the  favor  of  the  French  minister  in  Mexico,  he  was 
able  to  make  favorable  arrangements  in  advance,  with 
the  authorities  then  in  power  in  Mexico,  as  well  as 
with  Mexican  bankers  for  financial  aid;  but  on  arriving 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  41 

in  Sonora  with  some  two  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
he  was  compelled  to  do  some  fighting.  He  captured 
Hermosillio,  although  it  was  garrisoned  by  a  force  vastly 
superior  to  his  own;  but  soon  after  lost,  by  bad  manage- 
ment, all  the  advantage  he  had  gained,  and  returned 
to  San  Francisco.  There  his  friend  the  consul  urged 
him  to  make  another  effort,  and  raised  for  him,  or 
helped  him  to  raise  the  money  he  required,  with  which 
and  a  new  force  of  about  four  hundred  men  he  returned 
to  Sonora.  There  he  encountered  a  far  more  stubborn 
resistance  than  he  had  formerly  met.  His  force  was 
dispersed  and  he  himself  taken  prisoner  and  shot  on 
August  12,  1854. 

While  Raousset  was  employed  in  organizing  his 
second  command,  William  Walker,  an  American,  was 
also  raising  men  for  a  filibustering  enterprise.  Walker 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  strongly  imbued  with 
southern  sentiments.  He  had  been  a  writer  for  news- 
papers in  New  Orleans  before  coming  to  California, 
and  after  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco  in  1850  had  for 
a  time  written  for  the  "Herald."  Later  he  practised 
law  at  Marysville,  and  was  always  an  ardent  advocate 
of  slavery  extension.  The  enterprises  of  Pindray  and 
Raousset  turned  his  attention  to  Mexico,  and  in  1852 
he  began  to  dream  of  planting  an  American  colony  in  - 
Sonora.  Li  1853,  he  too,  proposed  to  defend  the  north- 
ern Mexican  settlements  against  the  Apaches,  if  given 
a  liberal  grant  of  land  for  his  colony;  but  the  Mexican 
government  did  not  receive  his  proposal  with  favor, 
doubtless  suspecting  that  his  pretensions  were  not 
genuine. 


42  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Walker  now  abandoned  his  pretense  of  wishing  to 
found  a  colony,  and  declared  his  intention  to  found  the 
republic  of  Sonora  and  Lower  California.  He  issued 
bonds  on  the  faith  of  his  prospects  of  success,  which 
he  managed  to  sell  to  admirers  in  San  Francisco, 
adopted  a  flag  and  with  forty-six  men  sailed  for  Sonora 
on  October  15,  1853.  On  reaching  the  Gulf  of  California 
three  weeks  later,  the  ancient  town  of  La  Paz  seemed 
to  offer  less  prospect  of  resistance  than  he  would  be 
likely  to  meet  at  Guaymas,  and  he  accordingly  landed, 
took  possession  of  it,  and  proclaimed  the  republic  of 
Lower  California,  extending  the  laws  of  Louisiana  over 
it  by  a  later  decree,  and  so  authorizing  slavery  in  it  if 
anybody  should  care  to  bring  slaves  thither.  But  La 
Paz  was  exposed  to  easy  attack  from  the  Mexican  coast, 
and  its  people  becoming  restive  under  their  new  govern- 
ment. Walker  and  his  army  abandoned  it,  after  a  sharp 
skirmish  with  the  natives,  and  retired  up  the  coast  to 
Todos  Santos  bay,  about  sixty  miles  south  of  San  Diego. 
There  he  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  explanation  of  his  enterprise.  Mexico,  he 
said,  had  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  peninsula,  and 
in  order  to  develop  its  resources  it  had  been  necessary 
to  give  it  an  independent  government. 

The  California  newspapers  applauded  this  address, 
the  flag  of  the  new  republic  was  hoisted  in  San  Francisco 
and  recruits  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  or  more  were 
enlisted  and  sent  to  him  Being  thus  reinforced  his 
need  for  supplies  became  greater,  and  he  had  no  means 
of  procuring  them  except  to  make  levies  upon  the 
inhabitants.  This  brought  on  a  conflict  in  which  several 
of  the  invaders  were  killed. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  43 

When  news  that  blood  had  actually  been  shed  in 
defense  of  the  new  republic  reached  San  Francisco, 
Walker's  enterprise  became  surprisingly  popular.  Men 
hurried  from  the  mines,  and  so  many  of  the  idle  and 
worthless  element  in  the  cities  crowded  to  enlist  that 
transportation  could  not  be  got  for  them;  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  if  Walker  and  his  adherents  could 
have  found  means  to  convey  all  who  would  now  have 
joined  him  if  they  could,  to  Todos  Santos  bay,  he  might 
have  established  himself  in  Sonora,  and  possibly  have 
succeeded  in  his  grand  designs.* 

When  these  new  recruits  reached  him.  Walker  started 
for  Sonora  by  way  of  the  Colorado;  but  for  various 
reasons  his  soldiers  began  to  desert  him.  He  arrested 
four  of  the  deserters,  publicly  shot  two  of  them  and 
flogged  the  other  two,  but  did  not  by  such  means  stim- 
ulate the  loyalty  and  devotion  of  those  who  remained. 
A  bare  remnant  of  his  force  crossed  the  Colorado  and 
soon  after  went  to  pieces,  and  his  enterprise  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

On  his  return  to  San  Francisco  Walker  was  prosecuted 
for  violating  the  neutrality  laws  but  was  acquitted,  and 
returned  to  newspaper  work  in  San  Francisco  and  later 
in  Sacramento,  to  which  he  devoted  himself  for  some 
months  until  tempted  to  undertake  a  new  filibustering 
enterprise  in  Nicaragua.  For  this  he  succeeded  in 
enlisting  fifty-six  men,  with  whom  he  sailed  for  Central 

*"Had  Walker's  party  succeeded  in  reaching  Sonora  and  been  able  to  stand 
their  own  for  a  time,  or  perhaps  signally  defeat  the  Mexicans  in  a  pitched  battle, 
ten  thousand  of  our  mixed  Californians  would  have  hastened  to  their  triple- 
striped,  two-star  standard.*  *  *  Other  tens  of  thousands  would  have  flocked  into 
the  country;  and  perforce  it  would  have  been  thoroughly  Americanized."  Annals 
of  San  Francisco,  p.  47g  and  480. 


44  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

America  early  in  May,  1855.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
follow  him  through  the  various  changes  of  fortune  which 
attended  him  in  this  undertaking,  since  it  but  little 
concerns  the  history  of  California,  After  his  arrival 
in  Nicaragua  he  was  joined  by  sixty  new  recruits  from 
California  under  Parker  H.  French.  Succeeding  in 
several  of  his  early  enterprises  he  became  commander 
in  chief  of  one  of  the  contending  factions,  and  later 
president  of  Nicaragua. 

News  of  his  advancement  and  brightening  prospects 
soon  reached  the  eastern  and  southern  states,  and  as 
the  object  of  his  enterprise  was  well  understood,  the 
advocates  of  slavery  extension  bestirred  themselves  to 
send  him  assistance.  Public  meetings  addressed  by 
prominent  men  were  held  in  New  Orleans  and  other 
southern  cities,  to  raise  money  and  enlist  recruits  to  be 
sent  him.  Tammany  hall  espoused  his  cause  in  New 
York,  and  a  call  for  a  public  meeting,  signed  by  several 
prominent  democratic  senators,  was  posted  in  all  parts 
of  the  city,  inviting  all  friends  of  republicanism,  and 
opponents  of  British  meddling  with  affairs  in  Central 
America,  to  assist  in  the  great  work  he  was  prosecuting. 
But  before  the  assistance  raised  by  such  means  reached 
him,  other  Central  American  states  had  combined  with 
his  opponents  in  Nicaragua  and  he  had  been  driven 
from  the  country. 

On  reaching  the  United  States  Walker  immediately 
raised  a  new  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  offered  by  federal  officials  under 
instructions  from  Washington,  and  sailed  with  them 
from  Mobile  for  Punta  Arenas,  where  he  landed  late  in 
November,  1857.    There  he  raised  the  flag  of  Nicaragua 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  45 

and  issued  orders  as  commander  in  chief  of  its  army. 
He  seized  a  fort  on  the  San  Juan,  captured  several 
vessels  and  their  cargoes,  killed  several  persons,  and 
made  prisoners  of  others.  Commodore  Paulding  at 
that  time  in  command  of  the  United  States  squadron 
in  the  Caribbean,  on  hearing  of  Walker's  renewed 
activity,  sent  a  force  on  shore  and  compelled  him  to 
surrender.  For  this  action  he  had  no  authority,  and 
when  news  of  it  reached  the  United  States,  he  was 
severely  censured,  particularly  in  the  south.  Congress 
called  upon  the  president  to  explain,  and  Walker 
became  the  hero  of  the  hour.  He  was  arrested  for 
violating  the  neutrality  laws,  but  upon  trial  the  jury 
disagreed  and  he  was  not  further  troubled. 

In  August,  i860,  he  sailed  from  New  Orleans  with  a 
new  filibustering  force  of  about  two  hundred  men  with 
which  he  landed  near  Truxillo  in  Honduras,  intending 
to  make  his  way  through  that  country  to  Nicaragua; 
but  his  men  lacked  the  spirit  of  those  he  had  enlisted 
in  California  and  soon  began  to  desert  him.  In  his 
extremity  he  surrendered  to  the  captain  of  a  British 
man  of  war  then  on  that  coast,  supposing  that  he  would 
protect  him;  but  in  this  he  was  disappointed.  He  was 
given  up  to  the  military  authorities  of  Honduras,  tried 
by  court-martial,  and  shot  September  12,  i860. 

Meantime  Henry  A.  Crabb  of  San  Joaquin  county, 
who  had  been  the  recognized  leader  of  the  whig  party 
in  the  state  senate  in  1854,  led  a  party  of  eighty 
Californians  on  a  filibustering  expedition  to  Sonora, 
early  in  1857.  Near  Caborca,  a  town  about  half 
way  between  Sonoita  and  Hermosillio,  this  small  force 
was  surprised  by  a  much  larger  body  of  Mexicans  on 


46  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  morning  of  March  27th,  but  reached  the  town 
where  they  made  a  heroic  defense  for  several  days. 
They  were  finally  induced  to  surrender  by  promises  of 
considerate  treatment,  but  these  were  not  kept.  All 
were  subsequently  shot. 

The  southern  counties  derived  advantage  but  slowly 
from  the  gold  mines  and  the  activities  which  they  so 
generally  stimulated.  Although  a  large  number  of 
immigrants  came  to  the  state  by  the  southern  routes, 
relatively  few  of  them  remained  in  or  near  the  southern 
towns,  or  returned  to  them  after  trying  their  fortunes 
in  the  mines.  Winthrop  found  San  Diego  in  three 
parts  in  1853 — "a  desolate  harbor  with  a  few  sheds 
and  three  coal  hulks;  an  old  town  six  miles  from  the 
beach;  and  a  new  town  containing  the  barracks." 
The  other  towns,  from  San  Luis  Obispo  southward 
appear  not  to  have  shown  signs  of  greater  activity. 
Los  Angeles  was  hardly  more  than  the  Spanish  pueblo 
it  had  been  when  Pico  was  governor,  though  a  number 
of  Americans  had  settled  there.  Spanish  customs 
and  Spanish  methods  of  doing  business  still  prevailed, 
and  would  do  so  for  many  years.  Only  on  Sundays  and 
holidays  would  the  town  awaken  from  its  sleepy 
restfulness  and  present  a  scene  of  gay  activity.  Then 
the  seiioras  and  senoritas  would  come  to  town  in  their 
carretas,  decked  in  their  brightest  colors,  escorted  by 
troops  of  gallants  on  horseback,  and  the  days  would 
be  spent  in  singing,  dancing,  feasting,  and  watching 
the  feats  of  horsemanship  which  all  young  men  and 
some  old  men  delighted  to  display. 


xyif-  .-^^.^f^-sfn-tf^' .  ■  v.-^-*> .  -^aasafc 


LOS  ANGELES  IN  1857 
From  a  lithograph  in  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum, 


Tomisc 


'   111    uirt*' 
.       .   few  sheds 
'■  Trom  the 
beach;   ana    a  ck^v. 

The  other  towi  'd 

appear  not  to  ha\ 
Los  Angeles  was  hardi^ 

it  had  been  when  Pico  wa&  ^  ...   loj 

of   Americans    had    settled    there.     Spai.  ustoms 

and  Spanish  methods  of  doing  business  still  vailed, 
and  would  do  so  for  many  years.  Only  on  Sunda_> 
holidays  would  the  town  awaken  from  its  slee^ 
restfulness  and  present  a  scene  of  gay  activity.  Then 
the  senoras  and  senoritas  would  come  to  town  in  their 
carretas,  decked  in  their  brightest  colors,  escorted  by 
troops  of  gallants  on  horseback,  and  the  days  would 
be  spent  in  singing,  dancing,  feasting,  and  watching 
the  feats  of  horsemanship  which  all  young  men  and 
some  old  men  delighted  to  display. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  47 

In  the  country  a  change  was  taking  place,  though 
slowly.  The  large  land  owners  were  parting  with 
portions  of  their  holdings  to  settlers  who,  here  and 
there  in  more  favored  localities,  were  cultivating  the 
ground  more  methodically  and  with  better  implements 
than  their  predecessors  had  done,  though  there  was  but 
little  market  for  their  surplus  products.  Some  of  the 
newcomers  were  making  experiments  with  vines  and 
fruit  trees  that  would  in  time  develop  into  a  profitable 
industry;  but  the  realization  of  their  hope  was  yet  afar 
off.  In  1869  there  was  not  above  twenty  thousand 
people  in  Los  Angeles  city  and  county,  and  as  late  as 
1883  the  population  of  the  city  was  only  about  fourteen 
thousand;  there  was  not  a  mail  box  in  it  outside  the 
post  office,  and  a  free  delivery  system  was  not 
established  until  later. 

During  the  earlier  years — or  from  1849  to  i860 — 
there  was  much  complaint  in  the  southern  counties, 
and  with  reason,  about  the  taxes  they  were  required  to 
pay.  Their  representatives  in  the  constitutional  con- 
vention had  anticipated  that  an  unjust  burden  would 
be  laid  upon  them,  and  for  that  reason  had  favored  a 
territorial  rather  than  a  state  government,  but  had 
yielded  to  the  majority  rather  than  see  California 
divided.  They  had  opposed  the  section  of  the  con- 
stitution in  regard  to  taxation,  arguing  with  much 
force  and  clearness  that  it  would  oppress  land  owners, 
who  derived  but  a  moderate  revenue  from  their 
holdings,  while  miners,  who  had  no  title  to  the  claims 
from  which  they  were  taking  fortunes,  would  pay 
only  a  capitation  tax  if  they  paid  anything.  That 
their  fears  were  not  unreal  was  clearly  shown  by  their 


48  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

first  year's  experience.  Governor  McDougal,  in  his 
only  message  to  the  legislature,  in  1852,  pointed  out 
that,  as  shown  by  the  comptroller's  report  "the  six 
southern  counties,  with  a  population  of  6,347  souls  *  *  * 
had  paid  $41,705.26  while  the  twelve  mining  counties 
with  a  population  of  119,917  have  paid  $21,253.66. 
The  latter  have  a  representation  in  the  legislature  of 
forty-four,  while  the  former  have  but  twelve."  The 
amount  of  capitation  tax  assessed  in  the  twelve  mining 
counties,  he  said,  was  $51,495,  of  which  only  $3,580 
was  paid,  while  of  the  $7,205  assessed  against  the 
southern  counties  $3,91 3 .50  was  paid.  The  agricultural 
counties  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  with  a  population  of 
79,778  had  paid  $246,247.71,  while  the  mining  counties 
had  paid  only  $21,253.66  in  taxes  of  all  kinds. 

The  opposition  from  southern  members  in  congress 
to  the  admission  of  California,  with  the  boundaries 
agreed  upon  in  convention,  and  the  various  proposals 
made  for  dividing  it,  are  known.  This  opposition  may 
have  stimulated  the  efforts  of  those  who  hoped  for 
division,  though  it  probably  did  not.  In  February 
and  March,  1850,  meetings  were  held  at  Los  Angeles, 
at  which  a  petition  was  drawn  up  and  generally  signed, 
asking  congress  to  set  off  the  southern  counties  of 
the  state  and  give  them  a  territorial  government.  The 
petition  was  later  sent  to  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Luis 
Obispo,  where  more  signatures  were  obtained.  It  set 
forth  in  detail  the  reasons  for  making  this  request,  but 
slavery  was  not  mentioned  among  them;  nevertheless 
the  southern  senators  were  able,  as  the  result  of  it, 
to  urge  with  some  force  that  a  division  of  the  state  was 
demanded  by  its  people. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  49 

Efforts  to  secure  a  division  continued  after  the  state 
was  admitted.  Candidates  for  the  legislature  in  Los 
Angeles  and  other  southern  counties  in  1851  were 
pledged  to  do  their  best  to  secure  it,  and  later,  delegates 
were  elected  from  all  the  counties  as  far  north  as 
Monterey  to  a  convention  at  Santa  Barbara,  to  concert 
measures  to  bring  it  about.  The  convention  agreed 
to  resolutions  in  favor  of  dissolving  a  political  union 
"in  contradiction  to  the  eternal  ordinances  of  nature, 
who  herself  has  marked  out  with  an  unerring  hand 
the  natural  bounds  between  the  great  gold  regions  of  the 
northern  and  internal  sections  of  the  state,  and 
the  rich  agricultural  valleys  of  the  south";  but  when 
it  came  to  define  the  boundaries  of  these  regions, 
differences  of  opinion  nearly  broke  up  the  convention.* 

In  the  legislature  of  1852  a  resolution  providing  for 
the  calling  of  a  convention  to  revise  or  form  a  new 
constitution  was  proposed  but  failed  of  passage,  and 
in  1855  a  bill  for  the  same  purpose  was  defeated.  The 
matter  reappeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  legislature 
from  1854  to  1857.  Meantime  it  was  much  discussed 
in  the  newspapers  in  California  and  occasionally  in 
the  east  where  it  was  assumed  to  have  some  connection 
with  the  slavery  question,  though  this  was  frequently 
and  more  or  less  vigorously  denied  by  all  who  favored 
it.  In  1857  the  legislature  passed  a  bill  providing 
that  the  people  should  vote  on  the  question  of  calling 

*No  line  was  fixed,  but  it  was  agreed  to  recommend  to  the  legislature  that  it 
should  run  no  farther  north  than  the  northwestern  boundary  of  Santa  Clara 
county,  nor  farther  south  than  the  northern  line  of  Monterey  county,  thence  east 
to  the  summit  of  the  main  Coast  range,  thence  following  the  range  to  a  due 
east  and  west  line  passing  through  the  northernmost  point  of  Tulare  Lake. 


60  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

a  new  constitutional  convention,  but  by  a  close  vote 
it  was  negatived  at  the  succeeding  general  election. 

In  the  legislature  of  1858  Senator  Andres  Pico 
'ntroduced  resolutions  requesting  that  an  act  be  passed 
setting  off  all  that  part  of  the  state  lying  south  of  35°3o' 
in  order  that  a  separate  government  might  be  formed 
for  it;  but  it  was  not  pressed  at  that  session.  In  the 
next  legislature,  however,  he  presented  a  similar 
resolution,  and  later  a  bill  was  introduced  and  passed 
directing  the  governor  by  proclamation  to  call  upon 
the  voters  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Barbara,  Los 
Angeles,  San  Diego,  and  San  Bernardino  counties  to 
A^ote  on  the  question  of  separation,  and  if  two-thirds 
of  them  or  more  should  favor  it,  the  state  should  then 
be  divided.  While  this  measure  was  under  considera- 
tion another  was  introduced,  probably  as  a  means  of 
delaying  or  defeating  it,  authorizing  all  citizens  of  the 
state  residing  north  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north 
latitude  to  withdraw  and  organize  a  separate  govern- 
ment, but  nothing  came  of  it.  When  the  vote  in  the 
southern  counties  was  taken  it  showed  2,457  in  favor 
of  separation  against  828  opposed,  or  considerably 
more  than  the  two-thirds  required. 

In  his  message  to  the  legislature  of  i860  Governor 
Latham  gave  notice  that  he  had  transmitted  the 
result  of  the  vote  taken  in  the  southern  counties  to 
the  president,  at  the  same  time  informing  him  that  the 
movement  for  a  division  of  the  state  had  grown  out 
of  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  people  of  the  counties 
with  the  expenses  of  the  state  government,  and  the 
portion  of  such  expenses  they  were  required  to  pay. 
There  was  "no  remedy,"  he  thought,  save  in  a  separa- 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  51 

tion  from  the  other  portion  of  the  state.  In  short 
that  the  union  of  southern  and  northern  California  is 
unnatural. 

Latham  had  been  elected  senator  two  days  before 
he  sent  this  message  to  the  legislature,  and  his  purpose 
in  sending  it  appears  to  have  been  to  secure  some 
declaration  that  would  seem  to  be  a  compliance  with 
that  section  of  the  federal  constitution  which  provides 
that  "no  new  state  shall  be  formed  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  another  state  *  *  *  without  the  consent  of  the 
legislature  of  the  state  concerned" — as  he  was  careful 
to  point  out  that,  in  his  opinion,  this  section  provided 
for  all  that  remained  to  be  done.  Many  members  of 
the  legislature  were  of  his  opinion,  while  others  con- 
tended that  the  electors  in  a  few  counties  ought  not  to 
be  allowed  to  divide  the  state  and  set  up  a  new  govern- 
ment for  them  without  consulting  the  larger  number 
who  were  to  remain.  The  assembly,  however,  voted  by 
37  to  26,  that  the  consent  of  congress  was  now  alone 
necessary,  but  in  the  senate  no  vote  was  taken,  and 
the  matter  so  remained. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  several  writers  that  this 
movement  for  a  division  of  the  state  was  in  the  interest 
of  slavery,  and  was  promoted  by  the  pro-slavery  party; 
but  that  this  is  not  the  fact  must  be  clear  to  anyone 
who  will  carefully  examine  its  history  in  detail.*  The 
people  in  these  southern  counties  were  not  in  favor  of 
slavery;  the  great  land  owners  particularly  were 
naturally  opposed  to  it.  Nor  were  they  at  any  stage 
of  the  agitation  in  any  degree  deluded  by  pro-slavery 

*See  a  very  carefully  prepared  article,  with  ample  references  to  the  records,  by 
William  H.  Ellison  in  the  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly  for  October,  1813. 


52  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

politicians.  They  were  careful  to  deny,  when  there 
was  occasion,  that  the  pro-slavery  party  had  any  part 
in  what  they  were  seeking  to  do,  and  in  all  their 
speeches,  petitions,  and  memorials,  set  forth  other  and 
ample  reasons  for  their  dissatisfaction. 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  in  1858  and  1859  the  extreme 
pro-slavery  party  looked  with  favor  on  what  these 
counties  were  trying  to  do,  and  helped  them  by  its 
votes.  It  is  possibly  true  as  Hittell  assumes,*  that 
Latham  aspired  to  advance  the  scheme  so  far  as 
governor,  that  as  senator  he  might  be  able  to  offer 
the  south  the  means  of  restoring  its  lost  equilibrium 
in  the  senate,  by  the  tender  of  territory  for  a  new 
state  south  of  the  old  line  of  36°3o',  taken  from  the  state 
whose  admission  had  destroyed  it.  The  fight  for 
Kansas  was  not  yet  over;  if  the  south  should  win  in 
that  fight  it  must  soon  lose  again  by  the  admission  of 
Nebraska.  But  by  dividing  California  the  equilibrium 
might  be  restored  with  some  hope  of  permanency;  for 
by  the  compromises  of  1850  it  had  been  settled  that 
when  new  states  should  be  formed  in  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  they  might  be  slave  or  free  according  as  the 
people  then  in  them  should  decide.  The  plan  seemed 
plausible  enough  to  commend  it  to  a  man  of  Latham's 
calibre,  who  was  not  too  well  informed — as  may  be 
safely  assumed — in  regard  to  the  status  of  the  slavery 
agitation  at  that  time;  but  nothing  can  well  be  more 
certain  than  that  Latham's  plans,  and  those  of  the 
people  in  the  six  southern  counties  had  little  in  common. 

*Theodore  H.  Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IF.,  p.  261-2. 


CPIAPTER  II. 
THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856 


THE  improved  conditions  brought  about  by  the 
non-partisan  administration  in  San  Francisco 
which  followed  the  work  of  the  vigilance  com- 
mittee in  185 1,  did  not  last  long.  Unfortu- 
nately non-partisan  reform  administrations  do  not 
propagate  their  kind.  Their  work  is  for  the  time  being 
only;  those  who  compose,  elect,  and  support  them 
usually  scorn  and  scoff  at  the  means  by  which  alone 
government  of  any  kind,  whether  good  or  bad,  may  be 
prolonged,  and  the  reforms  they  begin,  or  perhaps  com- 
plete, are  not  lasting.  At  the  end  of  their  term,  usually, 
their  reforms  end,  the  old  corruptionists  and  ringsters 
return  to  power,  and  the  last  state  of  the  reformed 
municipality  is  worse  than  its  first. 

So  it  was  with  San  Francisco  in  the  early  fifties.  In 
the  state  at  large,  while  vigilantes  had  been  active,  they 
had  produced  little  change  except  in  the  way  of  lessen- 
ing the  number  of  criminals;  indeed  they  had  attempted 
little  else.  Crime  was  still  rampant  everywhere;  mur- 
ders for  the  purpose  of  robbery  were  so  frequent  that 
it  is  almost  surprising  that  honest  people  kept  up  heart 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  their  lives.  Helper,  in  his 
Land  of  Gold,  estimates  that  no  less  than  four  thousand 
two  hundred  persons  were  murdered  in  California  in 
the  years  1849  to  1854  inclusive;  and  while  this  estimate 
was  made  by  one  who  could  have  had  no  better  basis 
for  it,  or  a  large  part  of  it,  than  reports  hastily  gathered 
here  and  there  as  occasion  offered,  yet  his  statement 
must  be  taken  as  one  of  numerous  other  evidences  that 
the  number  was  very  large.*     Bancroft  says  that  the 

*Hinton  R.  Helper  did  not  stay  long  in  California,  but  returned  east  to  write 
another  book  called  The  Impending  Crisis  of  the  South;  How  to  Meet  It,  for  endorsing 
which  John  Sherman  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives  after  a  prolonged  contest  in  1859. 


56  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

criminal  records  of  1855  show  that  five  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  persons  met  their  death  by  violence  in  that 
year.  Of  these  three  hundred  and  seventy  were  whites, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-three  Chinese,  and  three 
negroes.  During  the  same  year  forty-seven  persons 
were  reported  to  have  been  executed  by  mobs,  nine 
were  killed  by  Indians,  ten  by  sheriffs  or  police  officers, 
six  by  collectors  of  the  foreign  miners  tax  and  twelve 
in  brawls.  Hittell  says  that  during  eleven  months  of 
that  year  the  number  of  homicides  was  five  hundred 
and  thirty-five.  Forty-nine  criminals  were  hanged  by 
mobs,  while  there  were  only  seven  legal  executions. 

Single  individuals,  or  small  parties  of  miners  were 
not  only  waylaid  and  murdered  while  on  their  way  from 
the  mines  to  the  cities,  but  prosperous  farmers  and 
their  families  were  slaughtered  in  their  beds  and  their 
bodies  burned  in  their  homes.  Stages  were  stopped  in 
lonely  places  and  their  passengers  and  treasure  chests 
despoiled.  Stores  and  banks  were  plundered,  and 
sometimes  ships  lying  in  the  rivers  were  captured 
and  robbed  if  known  or  supposed  to  have  gold  dust  on 
board.  Organized  bands  of  thieves  stole  horses  and 
cattle,  passed  them  along  from  one  party  to  another 
until  they  were  finally  sold  at  places  so  remote  that 
there  was  little  danger  they  would  be  reclaimed. 
Finally  other  bands  of  bandits  roamed  far  and  wide 
through  the  great  interior  valleys,  or  the  counties 
south  of  the  Tehachipi,  robbing  indiscriminately  and 
murdering  all  who  resisted. 

Most  noted  among  these  bandits  was  Joaquin 
Murietta,  whose  party  is  supposed  to  have  murdered 
a  hundred  men,  and  between   1850  and   1853   ranged 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         57 

through  the  whole  Interior  country  from  Los  Angeles 
to  Mount  Shasta.  A  few  years  later  Juan  Flores  cap- 
tained an  equally  large  and  equally  murderous  gang 
that  for  a  time  terrorized  the  southern  counties.  Both 
were  Mexicans  as  were  most  of  their  associates,  although 
some  of  them  were  natives  of  other  countries.  Some 
sympathetic  historians  would  have  us  believe  that  they 
were  driven  to  desperation  by  the  foreign  miners  tax; 
some  tell  us  that  Murietta  was  flogged  for  an  ofl^ense 
of  which  he  was  not  guilty,  and  that  his  crimes  were 
aimed  principally  at  those  responsible  for  his  flogging, 
while  another  and  more  romantic  apology  for  his  mad 
career  finds  expression  in  a  story  that  he  turned  cut- 
throat to  avenge  some  indignity  offered  to  his  pretty 
wife  or  mistress.  He  is  reputed  also  to  have  been 
something  of  a  Robin  Hood  in  the  boldness  with  which 
he  visited  towns  where  vigilantes  were  eagerly  watching 
opportunity  to  hang  him,  and  talked  with  sheriffs  whose 
pockets  were  filled  with  warrants  commanding  his 
arrest — but  always  escaping  and  eluding  pursuit.  One 
of  his  principal  lieutenants  was  that  Three  Fingered 
Jack  who  had  boasted  of  murdering  Cowie  and  Fowler 
at  the  time  of  the  Bear  flag  episode,  and  whose  chief 
delight  was  to  cut  the  throats  of  Chinamen. 

In  1853  the  legislature  authorized  Captain  Harry  S. 
Love,  deputy  sheriff  of  Los  Angeles  county,  who  had 
shown  much  boldness  and  skill  in  pursuing  outlaws, 
and  who  had  already  captured  or  killed  several  of  them, 
to  enlist  a  company  of  twenty  men  to  capture  or  exter- 
minate Murietta's  band.  This  he  did,  choosing  among 
others  Walter  H.  Harvey  who  had  shot  James  D. 
Savage,  discoverer  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and  Philip 


58  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

T.  Herbert  who  later,  while  a  member  of  congress  killed 
a  waiter  in  Willards  Hotel  at  Washington,  as  his 
lieutenants.  Love  came  upon  Murietta  and  some  of 
his  followers  while  in  camp  in  the  plain  west  of  Tulare 
Lake  on  July  25,  1853.  Murietta  sprang  upon  an 
unsaddled  horse  and  attempted  to  escape  but  was  shot; 
some  of  his  companions  were  killed  or  captured  after 
a  hot  chase  and  some  fighting.  Among  the  killed  was 
Garcia,  or  Three  Fingered  Jack.*  The  gang  was  subse- 
quently broken  up,  though  not  many  of  them  were 
killed  or  taken.  Most  of  them  are  supposed  to  have 
left  the  country. 

After  committing  many  murders  and  killing  Sheriff 
J.  R.  Barton  of  Los  Angeles  county,  the  bravest  and 
most  vigilant  of  his  pursuers,  Flores — who  was  only 
twenty-two  years  old — and  three  of  his  followers  were 
captured  in  the  San  Joaquin  Rancho  mountains,  by  a 
posse  of  about  a  hundred  men  under  Andres  Pico  on 
Sunday,  February,  i,  1857.  They  managed  to  escape 
but  were  retaken  three  days  later  and  two  of  them  were 
immediately  hanged.  Flores  was  taken  to  Los  Angeles 
where  he  remained  in  jail  for  a  week,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  a  demand  was  made  for  him  by  a  party  of  citizens, 
and  he  was  taken  out  and  hanged.  Fifty-two  members 
of  his  gang  were  captured,  but  as  no  specific  charge 
could  be  proven  against  any  one  of  them,  they  were 
liberated.     Thenceforth  their  depredations  ceased. 

In  most  parts  of  the  state  in  1856  the  laws  were  no 
better  executed  than  they  had  been  in  1851.  Judges 
were   negligent,    prosecutors   incompetent,    and  juries 

*Murietta's  head  and  Jack's  mutilated  hand  were  cut  off  and  carried  to 
Sacramento,  as  proof  that  the  noted  desperados  were  dead.  They  were  for  a 
time  preserved  in  alcohol  and  exhibited  in  a  saloon  in  San  Francisco. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         59 

corrupt;  while  sheriffs,  if  sometimes  energetic  and  cour- 
ageous in  making  arrests,  were  often  disheartened  by 
finding  those  whom  they  had  tracked  out  and  captured 
at  great  personal  risk,  set  at  liberty  for  very  trifling 
reasons.  In  civil  proceedings  things  were  quite  as  neg- 
ligently managed.  The  depressed  conditions  preceding 
and  following  the  bank  failures  of  1855,  had  made 
debtors  numerous,  and  more  consideration  was  shown 
them  than  their  honest  creditors.  It  was  because  of 
such  conditions  that  vigilance  committees  long  kept  up 
their  organizations  in  the  interior  counties,  or  revived 
them  upon  occasion  after  they  had  disbanded. 

In  San  Francisco  things  were  in  even  worse  condition 
than  elsewhere.  The  political  methods  which  Broder- 
ick  had  introduced  from  New  York  had  placed  the 
management  of  its  affairs  in  the  control  of  men  who 
were  not  only  extravagant  and  corrupt,  but  daily 
growing  more  defiant.  Notorious  criminals  made  their 
homes  in  the  city,  were  conspicuous  on  election  days, 
bullied  honest  voters,  stuffed  ballot  boxes,  and  even 
found  places  in  the  public  employ.  James  P.  Casey 
who  had  once  served  a  term  in  Sing  Sing,  was  super- 
visor, "Billy"  Mulligan,  a  notorious  New  York  ruffian, 
was  keeperof  the  jail;  "Yankee"  Sullivan,  prize  fighter, 
Charles  Duane,  who  had  shot  a  man  but  escaped  pun- 
ishment because  the  witnesses  of  the  shooting  could  not 
be  conveniently  found  on  the  day  of  trial,  and  many 
others  like  them  were  always  conspicuous  at  elections, 
and  known  or  believed  to  be  in  the  pay  of  prominent 
politicians. 

The  courts  had  few  claims  upon  the  respect  of  honest 
citizens,  though  some  of  the  judges  were  both  competent 


60  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

and  honest.  The  police  courts  were  particularly  in 
disrepute;  they  were  in  fact  bulwarks  of  defense  for  the 
scoundrels  who  ran  the  elections  and  the  thieves,  mur- 
derers, and  other  disreputables  who  voted  under  their 
direction.  The  notorious  "Ned"McGowan  had  once 
presided  in  one  of  them,  though  he  had  later  been  pro- 
moted to  be  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the  court  of 
sessions,  to  which  appeals  were  taken  by  those  whose 
crimes  were  so  black  that  the  justices  could  not,  without 
too  open  defiance  of  decency,  set  them  at  liberty. 
McGowan  had  been  a  Philadelphia  policeman  in  earlier 
days,  but  had  fled  that  city  when  charged  with  being 
accessory  to  the  robber}^  of  a  bank.  As  judge  in  the 
upper  court  he  found  ways — by  continuing  cases  until 
witnesses  could  be  got  rid  of,  or  by  accepting  as  jurymen 
those  who  were  no  better  than  the  culprits  whose  crimes 
they  were  to  pass  upon — to  be  as  useful  to  the  criminal 
classes  as  he  had  been  as  a  police  judge;  while  others 
little  better  than  himself  replaced  him  on  the  lower 
bench.  It  was  in  such  courts  that  the  criminals  in  the 
early  days  in  San  Francisco  were  arraigned,  and  some 
of  the  most  famous  criminal  lawyers  in  California 
practised. 

In  a  city  so  governed  it  is  hardly  surprising  that  the 

prosecuting  attorney  could  say,  as  he  is  reported  to 

have  said  in  the  closing  argument  in  a  murder  trial  late 

(     in  1855,  that  twelve  hundred  murders  had  been  com- 

*)   mitted  in  it  within  the  preceding  four  years  and  only 

(    one    murderer    had    been    convicted.*     That    was    an 

average  of  five  murders  every  six  days  in  a  city  of 

',  approximately  45,000  people.     Robberies,  burglaries, 

*  The  Land  of  Gold,  p.  298. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         61 

and  other  crimes  were  correspondingly  frequent. 
Things  had  not  been  worse  when  the  vigilantes  asserted 
themselves  and  brought  order  out  of  the  criminal  revels 
of  1851. 

The  old  spirit  of  orderly  revolt  was  not  wanting;  it 
was  only  waiting  to  be  aroused.  A  call  to  action  was 
alone  needed  and  the  call  came. 

On  the  afternoon  of  October  8,  1855,  from  a  little 
office  in  Merchant  street  just  east  of  Montgomery, 
/James  King  of  William  published  the  first  number  of 
the  "Evening  Bulletin."  The  size,  appearance,  and 
contents  of  the  new  publication  indicated  clearly  that 
it  was  an  experiment  in  journalism,  nevertheless  one 
that  was  likely  to  command  attention.  Its  editor  had 
no  experience  in  newspaper  making.  He  had  no  pur- 
pose to  make  a  newspaper  of  the  kind  with  which  the 
reading  public  is  now  familiar.  To  lay  before  his  readers 
a  more  or  less  complete  record  of  the  day's  happenings, 
with  pointed  comments  on  such  of  them  as  were  or 
seemed  to  be  most  deserving  of  attention,  was  but  a 
small  part,  if  indeed  it  was  any  part  of  his  plan.  He 
had  another  purpose  In  view  and  it  was  an  earnest  one. 
It  was  to  awaken  honest  people  in  San  Francisco  to  the 
dangers  of  their  situation  and  rouse  them  to  action. 
He  did  not  expect  to  do  this  by  mere  scolding.  He 
would  expose  evils  of  every  sort,  confront  wrong  doers 
with  the  evidence  of  their  vices  and  then  denounce 
them  unsparingly. 

This  editor  had  been  born  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  in 
January,  1822,  and  was  therefore  not  yet  thirty-four 
years  old.  He  had  been  a  clerk  In  a  bank  and  had 
worked  in  the  departments  In  Washington.     The  "of 


62  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

William" — i.  e.  of  the  family  of  William — he  had  added 
to  his  name  to  distinguish  him  from  other  James  Kings. 
He  had  started  for  Oregon  by  sea  in  1848,  but  learning 
at  some  port  in  South  America  of  the  gold  discovery, 
had  decided  to  stop  in  California.  Like  most  others 
he  tried  his  fortunes  in  the  mines  for  a  time,  but  later 
kept  books  for  a  mercantile  house  in  Sacramento. 
Late  in  1849  he  started  a  bank  in  San  Francisco,  as 
James  King  of  William  &  Company,  which  did  a  fairly 
satisfactory  business  until  1854,  when  because  of  some 
bad  investments  and  the  depressed  conditions  then 
prevailing,  he  paid  off  some  of  his  depositors  and 
arranged  to  pay  the  others  through  Adams  &  Company, 
turning  over  all  his  property  for  that  purpose.  As  a 
part  of  this  arrangement  he  became  cashier  of  Adams  & 
Company  with  a  salary  of  ^1,000  per  month,  but  disa- 
greeing with  some  of  its  members  as  to  their  methods 
of  doing  business,  he  soon  after  resigned  and  borrowing 
^500  from  some  of  his  friends  started  the  "Bulletin." 

He  was  a  man  of  convictions,  and  what  he  believed 
he  had  no  hesitation  in  declaring  most  openly.  This 
characteristic  had  been  a  hindrance  in  his  business  as  a 
banker,  but  would  be  strikingly  helpful  as  a  publisher. 
He  had  learned  much  as  a  banker  about  the  methods 
of  some  of  his  competitors,  particularly  of  Palmer, 
Cook,  &  Company,  and  he  early  began  to  tell  the  public 
what  he  knew.  He  had  hardly  more  to  say  about  the 
firm  and  its  methods  than  about  the  members  of  it, 
whom  he  addressed  by  name  and  denounced  them  as 
political  schemers  rather  than  bankers.  They  were  on 
the  bonds  of  public  officials  for  more  than  ^2,000,000, 
and  he  charged  that  they  not  only  became  sureties 


JAMES  KING  OF  WILLIAM 
Born  at  Georgetown,  D.  C,  in  Januarv,  1822;  died  at  San 
Francisco,  May  20,  1856;  came  to  California  in  1849;  estab- 
lished the  Bulletin  in  1855.  His  murder  by  James  Casey 
was  the  occasion  of  the  formation  of  the  vigilance  committee 
of  1856. 


Re  had  st? 


SCO  very, 
t  other 


■:ome 

....   then 

-ors   and 

)ife&cfiompan\ 

'^.     As  a 

^'.l„ 0, 

nethod>. 


'  V.  i  1  V.    V  >^ 

.     Thi 


r  he  ki  >out  thc^ 

and  it 

They  were  on 
aiore  th  joo.ooo, 

lot  on' 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         63 

when  asked,  but  actually  solicited  opportunity  to  sign 
bonds  in  order  that  they  might  by  that  means  secure 
deposits  of  public  funds.  He  held  them  to  be  chiefly 
to  blame  for  all  that  honest  men  had  to  complain  of  in 
city  and  state  government,  since  it  was  to  their  interest 
to  have  only  such  men  in  ofhce  as  they  could  control, 
and  to  secure  the  election  of  such  men  they  bribed  and 
corrupted  all  who  came  under  their  influence.  Day 
after  day  he  charged  them  with  specific  ofi"enses  which 
they  could  not  or  did  not  disprove,  and  when  a  few 
months  later  they  made  default  in  the  payment  of  the 
interest  due  in  New  York  on  state  and  city  securities, 
the  money  for  which  had  been  entrusted  to  them  in 
ample  time,  it  was  apparent  that  his  castigation  of  them 
was  not  undeserved. 

Meantime  he  did  not  neglect  public  officials  who 
were  remiss  in  their  duties,  or  political  managers 
who  had  contributed  to  their  election.  He  early 
assailed  Broderick  whom  he  accused  of  maintaining  a 
corps  of  hired  bullies  to  dominate  elections.  Lawyers 
who  procured  the  enlargement  of  notorious  criminals 
by  suborning  witnesses,  or  by  pleading  trivial  techni- 
calities, and  the  judges  who  permitted  them  to  do  so 
were  also  objects  of  his  attacks,  not  made  generally 
upon  a  class  but  particularly,  charging  home  to  each 
some  specific  offense  and  presenting  evidence  to  sustain 
it.  Officers  who  were  responsible  for  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  the  city  he  called  upon  by  name  to  do 
their  duty,  pointing  out  from  day  to  day  certain 
notorious  ruffians  or  well  known  criminals  who  were 
permitted  to  jostle  honest  men  and  women  in  the 
streets,    and    ply    their    criminal    vocations    without 


64  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

restraint,  Insisting  that  they  could  not  do  such  things 
unless  protected  by  those  who  ought  to  be  their  enemies. 
So  persistently,  insistently,  and  pointedly  did  he  pur- 
sue these  attacks,  that  the  city  council  was  at  last 
obliged  to  recognize  them,  and  a  report  made  by  a 
committee  in  November  admits  that  the  evils  com- 
plained of  were  only  too  open  and  notorious.  There 
was  no  sort  of  privacy  about  them.  The  best  families 
in  the  city  were  daily  and  unavoidably  insulted  by  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  impudent  evil  in  its  most 
glaring  form,  all  good  women  and  all  children  being 
subjected  alike  to  the  disgrace. 

If  King  was  a  bold  and  vigorous  fighter,  he  was 
at  the  same  time  an  honest  one.  He  did  not  attack  for 
the  sake  of  attacking,  or  fight  for  the  love  of  fighting.  If 
in  the  general  onslaught  he  occasionally  assailed  one 
who  was  less  guilty  than  he  believed,  and  had  a  defense 
to  make,  he  gave  him  opportunity  to  make  it;  if  con- 
vinced that  he  had  been  in  the  wrong  he  made  ungrudg- 
ing apology.  If  at  the  same  time  some  one  had  a  new 
accusation  to  make,  and  could  support  it  with  evidence, 
or  show  seeming  cause  to  make  it,  he  courted  his 
assistance.  His  paper  soon  came  to  be  a  popular  forum  / 
in  which  all  sorts  of  public  questions  were  discussed  by 
any  who  cared  to  write,  and  the  letters  addressed  to  the 
editor  largely  took  the  place  of  what  is  called  news  in 
other  papers.  The  number  of  its  readers  increased 
surprisingly.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  months  it ,, 
was  more  generally  read  than  any  other  paper  in  San 
Francisco,  and  daily  printed  a  statement  of  the  number 
of  copies  printed  at  the  top  of  its  editorial  page. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         65 

Some  of  the  letters  received  assailed  the  editor  as 
bitterly  as  he  attacked  the  writers  or  their  clients. 
Some  were  threatening,  but  these  he  treated  noncha- 
lently  and  sometimes  even  humorously.  Duelling  was 
common  in  those  days,  particularly  in  California,  and 
had  King  been  willing  to  accept  a  challenge  he  would 
have  been  frequently  called  out.  But  he  had  early 
announced  that  he  did  not  believe  in  duels  and  would 
accept  no  challenges,  though  nobody  doubted  his 
courage.  It  was  generally  known  that  he  carried  a 
pistol  and  that  he  practised  shooting  with  it,  but  he 
carried  it  only  for  defense.  He  even  said  so  in  his 
paper,  and  wrote  cheerfully  of  the  prospect  of  being 
attacked.  "Bets  are  now  offered,  we  have  been  told, 
that  the  editor  of  the  'Bulletin'  will  not  be  in  existence 
twenty  days  longer,"  he  wrote  on  November  22d,  the 
gamblers  whom  he  had  been  continually  denouncing, 
being  at  the  time  in  a  most  hostile  humor.  Two  weeks 
later  he  wrote:  "Mr.  Selover,  it  is  said  carries  a  knife. 
We  carry  a  pistol.  We  hope  neither  will  be  required, 
but  if  this  recontre  cannot  be  avoided,  why  will  Mr. 
Selover  insist  on  periling  the  lives  of  others  ?  We  pass 
every  afternoon,  about  half  past  4  to  5  o'clock,  along 
Market  street  from  Fourth  to  Fifth  street.  The  road 
is  wide  and  not  so  much  frequented  as  those  streets 
farther  in  town.  If  we  are  to  be  shot  or  cut  to  pieces, 
for  heaven's  sake  let  it  be  done  there.  Others  will  not 
be  injured,  and  in  case  we  fall  our  house  is  but  a  few 
hundred  yards  beyond,  and  the  cemetery  not  much 
farther." 

When  these  lines  were  written,  and  others  even  more 
defiant,  the  city  was  unusually  excited.     A  murder, 


66  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

without  provocation  so  far  as  the  public  knew,  and  the 
victim  of  which  was  a  well  known  public  official,  had 
been  committed  only  a  few  days  before.  William  H. 
Richardson,  United  States  marshal,  had  been  shot  in 
the  street  by  a  gambler  named  Charles  Cora.  They 
had  quarrelled  the  day  before  in  a  saloon,  so  the  public 
learned  later,  and  about  half  past  six  o'clock  met  again 
in  a  saloon  on  Montgomery  near  Clay  street.  They 
left  the  place  together  a  few  minutes  afterward  without 
attracting  particular  attention,  and  near  the  corner  of 
Clay  and  Leidesdorff  streets,  the  gambler  was  seen  to 
seize  the  officer  by  the  collar,  draw  a  pistol  and  shoot 
him.  Some  of  the  few  people  on  the  street  at  the  time 
heard  Richardson  say  as  the  pistol  was  presented: 
"You  would  not  shoot  me,  would  you  ?  I  am  unarmed." 
Then  a  shot  rang  out  and  he  was  dead. 

Cora  was  immediately  arrested  and  hurried  to  jail. 
Later  in  the  evening  the  signal  that  had  summoned  the 
vigilance  committee  in  1851  was  struck  on  the  bell  of 
the  California  engine  company,  and  a  few  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  once  active  body  assembled  at  the  Oriental 
hotel.  Sam  Brannan  was  there  among  others  and  made 
a  fiery  speech,  but  otherwise  there  was  no  excitement 
and  nothing  was  done  or  agreed  upon. 

A  coroner's  jury  found  that  Richardson  had  been 
murdered  without  a  mitigating  circumstance.  The 
public  accepted  the  verdict  as  quite  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  so  far  as  known,  and  began  to  speculate  about 
the  probability  of  justice  being  done.  Cora,  although 
worthless  himself,  was  known  to  be  the  paramour  of 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  notorious  women  in 
town,  and  it  was  suspected  that  she  would  use  her 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         67 

money  lavishly,  as  she  afterwards  did,  to  secure  his 
acquittal.  The  "Bulletin"  warned  the  public  that 
this  would  be  done;  that  the  ablest  lawyers  would  be 
employed  to  conduct  his  defense;  that  jurors  would 
probably  be  bribed,  and  the  sheriff  or  his  deputies 
might  be  prevailed  upon  to  let  him  escape.  Forty 
thousand  dollars  had  been  subscribed,  it  said,  to  secure 
his  freedom.  It  did  not  advise  resort  to  any  unusual 
means  to  prevent  this,  hoped  in  fact  that  there  would 
be  no  occasion  to  do  so,  but  it  urged  that  a  close 
watch  be  kept  upon  all  officials  whose  records  did  not 
place  them  above  suspicion.  It  was  a  mortification  to 
every  lover  of  decency  and  order  in  and  out  of  San 
Francisco  it  said,  that  the  sheriff  was  an  ex-keeper  of  a 
gambling  hell,  one  of  his  deputies  a  capper  at  a  string 
game  table,  while  his  jail  keeper  was  a  notorious  New 
York  rough.  "If,"  it  said,  "the  jury  which  tries  Cora 
is  packed,  either  hang  the  sheriff,  drive  him  out  of  town 
or  make  him  resign;  if  Billy  Mulligan  [the  jailer]  lets 
his  friend  Cora  escape,  hang  Billy  Mulligan  or  drive  him 
into  banishment." 

Cora  was  indicted  and  brought  to  trial  with  reason- 
able promptness.  As  was  expected  his  mistress  retained 
the  best  known  lawyers  to  defend  him.  These  were 
Colonel  E.  D.  Baker,  James  A,  McDougall,  George  F. 
James,  and  Frank  Tilford;  Henry  M.  Byrne,  prosecutor 
for  the  county,  Samuel  W.  Inge  United  States  district 
attorney,  Charles  H.  S.  Williams,  and  Alexander 
Campbell  were  for  the  prosecution.  The  case  was  ably 
tried  on  both  sides,  the  arguments  for  the  defense  being 


68  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

made  by  Baker  and  McDougall,  and  for  the  prosecution 
by  Byrne  and  Inge.  The  result  was  a  disagreement  of 
the  jury. 

So  deep  and  so  general  was  the  public  conviction  of 
the  prisoner's  guilt,  that  no  explanation  of  this  mistrial 
seemed  to  be  thought  of  save  one.  It  had  been  noticed 
that  the  prisoner  appeared  at  the  trial  dressed  as  for 
some  public  fete  of  which  he  was  to  be  the  central  and 
most  popular  figure,  and  that  at  no  time  had  he  shown 
the  least  anxiety  as  to  the  result.  Most  people  argued 
that  he  had  known  from  the  first  what  the  result  would 
be,  and  therefore  had  no  reason  to  fear. 

The  "Bulletin"  announced  the  mistrial  in  a  more 
than  usually  vigorous  article.  "Hung  be  the  heavens 
with  black, "  it  began.  "The  money  of  the  gambler  and 
the  prostitute  has  succeeded,  and  Cora  has  another 
respite.  The  jury  cannot  agree  and  are  discharged. 
Will  Cora  be  hung  by  the  ofhcers  of  the  law.^  No. 
Even  on  this  trial  one  of  the  principal  witnesses  aginst 
him  was  away,  having  sold  out  his  establishment  at 
twenty-four  hundred  dollars  and  left  the  state.  It  is 
said  that  another  trial  cannot  be  had  this  term,  and  by 
that  time  where  will  the  other  witnesses  be.^  *  *  * 
Talk  of  safety  in  the  law !  It  is  a  humbug.  The  veriest 
humbug  in  existence  is  the  present  system  of  jury  trials" 
— and  much  more  to  the  same  effect. 

Not  in  one  issue  only  but  in  many  did  King  make  and 
continue  to  make  these  assertions  that  the  law,  as  then 
administered  by  the  courts  in  San  Francisco,  would  not 
protect  the  innocent  by  punishing  the  guilty.  Mean- 
time he  did  not  neglect  to  seek  out  new  offenses  to 
expose  and  new  offenders  to  denounce.     A  man  named 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856        69 

McDuffie*  had  been  appointed  United  States  marshal 
in  place  of  Richardson.  King  criticised  the  appoint- 
ment by  McDuffie  of  one  Bagley  as  one  of  his  deputies, 
because  Bagley  had  been  indicted  for  an  assault  on 
James  P.  Casey  at  a  recent  election.  His  attention 
had  been  called  to  Bagley  by  a  communication  printed 
in  the  "Bulletin"  on  May  9,  1856.  Casey  had  been 
captain  of  one  of  the  San  Francisco  fire  companies,  but 
had  graduated  from  that  position  and  was  at  the  time 
a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  He  also  owned 
a  small  Sunday  paper  which  was  published  from  an 
office  in  the  building  owned  or  controlled  by  the  bank- 
ing house  of  Lucas,  Turner,  &  Company,  of  which 
General  Sherman  was  at  the  time  manager.  The  paper 
had  little  claim  on  anybody's  respect.  Sherman  had 
told  its  owner  that  he  would  not  permit  him  to  print 
and  circulate  slanders  from  the  building,  arid  that  if 
another  article  such  as  the  one  he  was  criticising  was 
pubHshed,  he  "would  cause  him  and  his  press  to  be 
thrown  out  of  the  window."t  Casey  or  some  corres- 
pondent of  his  paper  had  taken  note  of  the  criticism  of 
McDuffie,  and  in  the  issue  for  May  nth  had  charged 
that  the  reason  for  it  was  that  King's  brother  had  been 
an  applicant  for  the  appointment  as  marshal  and  had 
been  defeated.  On  May  14th  the  "Bulletin"  again 
discussed  Bagley's  case,  and  referring  to  the  fight  with 

*Bancroft  says  that  McDuffie  had  accumulated  a  fortune  by  conducting  a 
gambling  house  at  Marysville,  in  company  with  a  partner  named  Van  Read; 
that  Cora  had  been  employed  by  them,  and  that  Van  Read  became  active  in 
Cora's  behalf,  so  giving  some  ground  for  the  suspicion  "that  one  gambler  had 
murdered  the  marshall  to  enable  another  gambler  to  secure  his  place."  Popular 
Tribunals,  Vol.  II,  p.  ^j. 

^Memoirs  of  General  Sherman,  Vol.  I,  p.  IIQ. 


70  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Casey  on  election  day  said:  "It  does  not  matter  how 
bad  a  man  Casey  has  been,  nor  how  much  benefit_it 
might  be  to  the  public  to  have  him  out  of  the  way,  we 
cannot  accord  to  any  one  citizen  the  right  to  kill  him, 
or  even  beat  him  without  justifiable  personal  provoca- 
tion. The  fact  that  Casey  has  been  an  inmate  of  Sing 
Sing  prison  in  New  York  is  no  offense  against  the  laws 
of  this  state;  nor  is  the  fact  of  his  having  stuffed  him- 
self through  the  ballot  box  as  elected  to  the  board  of 
supervisors  from  a  district  where  it  is  said  he  was  not 
even  a  candidate,  any  justification  why  Mr.  Bagley 
should  shoot  Casey,  however  richly  the  latter  may 
deserve  having  his  neck  stretched  for  such  a  fraud  on 
the  people." 

The  paper  containing  this  article  had  been  off  the 
press  but  a  short  time  before  Casey  himself  visited 
the  "Bulletin"  office  to  protest  against  the  attack. 
King  is  said  to  have  asked  him  if  it  was  not  true  that 
he  had  been  in  the  penitentiary,  and  Casey  replied 
that  he  did  not  want  his  past  raked  up.  King  then 
ordered  him  out  of  his  office,  telling  him  never  to  return. 

The  "Bulletin"  had  not  "raked  up"  Casey's  past 
record.  It  had  only  republished  a  fact  that  had  been 
brought  to  notice  in  a  court  trial  some  months  before, 
when  Casey  himself  had  admitted  it  on  the  witness 
stand,  and  it  had  been  published  generally  in  the  San 
Francisco  papers.  The  republication  in  one  paper  can 
hardly  be  supposed  to  be  the  sole  cause  of  Casey's 
anger,  since  he  had  shown  no  special  indignation  on  a 
former  occasion  when  it  had  been  published  in  several 
papers;  and  there  was  therefore  ground  for  the  belief, 
quite  generally  held  at  the  time,  that  he  was  urged  on 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         71 

to  do  what  he  did  by  others  who  had  quite  as  much 
reason  to  be  aggrieved  as  himself  at  the  "Bulletin" 
attacks. 

Hardly  more  than  an  hour  after  Casey  had  visited 
the  "Bulletin"  office,  King  left  it  for  the  day.  He  had 
over  his  shoulders  a  cape-like  wrap,  such  as  was  worn  at 
the  time,  which  covered  his  arms  and  which  he  appears 
to  have  been  holding  together  at  the  throat  with  one 
hand.  He  walked  north  along  Montgomery  street  to 
Washington,  and  as  he  was  crossing  diagonally  to  the 
northwest  corner,  Casey  suddenly  confronted  him, 
thrust  a  heavy  revolver  at  his  breast,  and  saying  some- 
thing which  nobody  appears  to  have  distinctly  heard, 
but  which  was  probably  a  warning  to  defend  himself, 
or  a  notice  that  he  was  going  to  shoot,  fired.  Though 
armed  King  had  no  opportunity  to  make  defense. 
Both  his  arms  were  covered,  and  he  was  hardly  given 
time  to  recognize  his  assailant,  much  less  to  draw  a 
weapon  before  he  had  received  a  mortal  wound.  He 
staggered  forward,  reached  the  sidewalk  and  was  led 
into  the  Pacific  Express  office  where  he  sank  into  a 
chair.  Doctors  were  hurriedly  summoned,  and  his 
wound  examined.  It  was  found  that  the  ball,  fired  at 
close  range,  had  entered  the  left  breast  near  the  nipple 
and  passed  out  under  the  shoulder  blade.  Death 
seemed  to  be  imminent,  but  under  the  influence  of  such 
restoratives  as  could  be  given  he  gradually  recovered 
from  the  first  shock  of  the  wound.  He  was  placed  on 
a  couch  and  removed  to  a  room  in  a  neighboring 
building,  which  he  was  never  to  leave  alive. 

Without  waiting  to  learn  the  effect  of  his  shot — of 
which  indeed  there  could  be  little  doubt,  as  it  was  fired 


72  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

at  close  range — Casey  turned  up  Washington  street  and 
was  almost  immediately  joined  by  Lafayette  M.  Byrne 
a  deputy  sheriff.  "Ned"  McGowan  ex-judge  of  the 
police  court,  and  Peter  Wightman  a  butcher,  were 
waiting  near  by,  and  the  three  hurried  with  him  to  the 
city  jail  less  than  a  block  distant.  So  promptly  had 
the  three  appeared  after  the  shooting  that  it  was  long 
after  believed  that  they  were  aware  of  what  was  to  be 
done,  and  had  approved  if  not  encouraged  it.  It  was 
well  for  Casey  that  they  were  near,  for  a  crowd  soon 
filled  the  street,  and  many  voices  were  heard  demanding 
that  he  should  be  immediately  hanged.  His  friendly 
captors,  however,  succeeded  in  hurrying  him  into  the 
jail,  but  did  not  long  dare  to  keep  him  there.  The 
crowd  about  it  Increased  rapidly  and  grew  more  angry. 
Messengers  were  sent  to  fetch  a  carriage  to  the  rear  of 
the  building,  but  when  the  prisoner  was  led  out  to  it 
he  was  Immediately  recognized.  A  cry  went  up  that 
the  murderer  was  escaping,  and  there  were  more 
demands  that  he  be  seized  and  hanged.  The  officers 
succeeded  in  getting  him  Into  the  carriage  and  as 
quickly  as  possible  he  was  driven  to  the  county  jail, 
the  crowd  following  and  threatening  at  every  step  to 
stop  the  carriage,  and  drag  the  prisoner  out  of  it. 

The  county  jail  was  then  on  the  north  side  of 
Broadway  between  Kearny  and  Dupont  streets.  It 
was  a  two  story  structure  of  stone  and  brick  seven  or 
eight  feet  above  the  street  and  set  In  a  niche  scooped 
out  of  Telegraph  hill.  It  could  easily  be  defended 
against  a  mob.  Its  most  vulnerable  side  was  that 
toward  the  hill  which  nearly  touched  it  at  the  roof  level. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         73 

and  thence  sloped  upwards.  But  even  on  this  side  it 
was  defended  for  the  time  being  by  Casey's  friends,  and 
once  inside  it  he  was  safe. 

The  crowd,  however,  did  not  abandon  its  demands 
for  his  immediate  execution.  It  filled  the  streets  for 
several  squares,  and  excited  speakers  endeavored  to 
rouse  it  to  action.  Among  these  was  Thomas  King,  a 
brother  of  the  wounded  man,  who  from  a  balcony  oppo- 
site the  jail  declared  excitedly  that  the  shooting  had 
been  done  at  the  instigation  of  gamblers  who  would 
now  pour  out  their  money  in  his  defense  as  they  had 
poured  it  out  for  Cora.  He  had  been  told  by  "old 
Natchez"  a  dealer  in  fire  arms  on  Clay  street  that  very 
day,  that  his  brother  was  to  be  shot.  If  "Natchez" 
knew  it,  others  knew  it,  and  that  was  evidence  as  he 
thought,  that  conspirators  had  planned  the  attack 
though  only  one  man  had  made  it. 

Mayor  Van  Ness  also  asked  to  be  heard.  He  hoped 
nothing  would  be  done  rashly,  and  advised  all  present 
to  go  quietly  to  their  homes.  "I  assure  you  that 
the  prisoner  is  safe,"  he  said.  "Let  the  law  take  its 
course  and  justice  will  be  done."  But  the  crowd 
was  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  such  assurances.  "How 
about  Richardson?"  "Where  is  Cora?"  "Has 
justice  been  done  in  his  case?"  and  other  similar  cries 
greeted  this  appeal,  and  he  did  not  attempt  to  speak 
further. 

While  the  crowd  was  listening  to  these  and  other 
speeches  a  company  of  armed  citizens  appeared  and 
gradually  forced  its  way  toward  the  jail.  It  was  cheered 
at  first,  but  when  it  was  seen  that  it  came  to  defend  and 
not  attack,  the  cheers  were  turned  to  hisses.     Later 


74  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

another  company  appeared  and  still  later  some  of  the 
militia  organizations  marched  up.  It  was  midnight 
before  the  excitement  abated  and  the  crowd  dispersed. 
Many  of  its  members  passed  down  Montgomery  street 
to  inquire  as  to  the  condition  of  the  wounded  man,  and 
learned  with  much  satisfaction  that  he  was  still  alive. 
They  also  heard  with  equal  satisfaction  a  rumor  that 
a  committee  of  vigilance  was  organizing. 

A  crowd  had  filled  the  streets  near  the  Montgomery 
block,  to  a  room  in  which  King  had  been  removed, 
during  the  whole  evening.  About  nine  o'clock  many 
members  of  it  had  gone  to  the  plaza  where  some 
speeches  were  made,  but  nothing  had  been  done  because 
there  was  no  one  to  lead.  The  leaders,  or  some  of  them 
at  least,  were  conferring  together  elsewhere. 

A  few  members  of  the  old  committee  of  1851,  and 
some  others,  had  met  in  the  office  of  G.  B.  Post  & 
Company's  warehouse  at  North  Point.  They  had  done 
nothing  but  decide  to  issue,  in  the  name  of  the  old 
committee,  a  call  for  a  more  general  meeting  to  be  held 
next  morning  in  a  vacant  store  on  Sacramento  street 
near  Montgomery.  At  the  appointed  time  the  street  in 
front  of  the  place  designated  was  found  to  be  blocked 
with  people,  and  their  numbers  were  rapidly  increasing. 
It  was  evident  that  San  Francisco  was  thoroughly 
aroused. 

No  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  use  of  the 
building  at  which  the  meeting  had  been  called,  but 
some  of  the  earliest  comers  procured  the  key  and  as 
many  as  could  do  so  went  inside.  A  wonderful  una- 
nimity of  purpose  soon  displayed  itself,  both  among 
those  inside  and  outside.     All  favored  immediate  and 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         75 

vigorous  action,  and  each  was  willing  to  do  what  he 
could  do  best  to  secure  it.  Naturally  those  who  had 
been  most  prominent  in  the  former  committee  were 
looked  to  to  take  the  lead,  and  as  they  appeared  and 
were  recognized  room  was  made  for  them  so  that  they 
might  get  together  for  conference.  Among  the  earliest 
recognized  were  James  D.  Farwell,  William  T.  Coleman, 
Isaac  Bluxome,  Jr.,  Thomas  J.  L.  Smiley,  Arthur 
Ebbetts,  George  Ward,  Jerome  Rice,  Wm.  Arrington, 
J.  M.  Taylor,  J.  Dows,  C.  V.  Gillespie,  J.  P.  Manrow, 
A.  M.  Burns,  Wm.  B.  Watkins,  and  G.  W.  Frink. 
These  and  others,  some  of  whom  had  been  members  of 
the  earlier  committee  and  some  had  not,  seem  naturally 
to  have  looked  to  Mr.  Coleman  to  take  the  lead.  He 
had  been  less  vehement  than  many  others  in  times  of 
excitement.  He  was  less  radical  than  Brannan,  not  so 
aggressively  assertive  as  Ryckman,  made  no  pretense 
of  superiority  in  anything,  but  was  no  whit  behind  any 
in  courage  or  willingness  to  sacrifice  himself  when  there 
was  need.  His  selection  as  leader  was  less  the  result  of 
formal  action,  than  of  universal  demand. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  discuss  what  was  to  be  done  at 
the  outset.  Everybody  knew  what  was  to  be  done 
ultimately  and  was  willing  to  help  do  it.  It  was  plain 
that  they  would  be  able  to  do  it;  a  plan  of  procedure 
was  first  needed,  and  the  preparation  of  it  was  at  once 
begun. 

All  the  members  of  the  old  committee  realized  that 
some  changes  in  its  constitution  and  regulations  would 
be  desirable.  Everything  about  it  should  be  more 
secret;  more  care  should  be  taken  to  admit  none  who 
were  not  to  be  trusted,  and  all  should  be  pledged  at 


76  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  outset  to  stand  to  and  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the 
governing  body.  A  form  of  oath  was  accordingly 
drawn  up  which  each  subscribed.  Then  a  membership 
roll  was  prepared  and  committees  appointed  to  examine 
applicants  for  membership,  administer  the  oath,  and 
receive  their  signatures.  The  names  on  this  roll  were 
to  be  numbered  in  order  and  each  member  was  there- 
after to  be  known  and  addressed  by  his  number  rather 
A  than  his  name.  Mr.  Coleman  signed  first  and  was  num- 
ber I,  A.  M.  Burns  number  7,  James  D.  Farwell  number 
17,  Thomas  J.  L.  Smiley  number  20,  G.  W.  Frink 
number  26,  and  Isaac  Bluxome,  Jr.,  number  33. 
Bluxome  was  made  secretary  and  afterwards  signed  all 
official  papers  and  communications  with  his  number. 

The  examining  committees  worked  assiduously. 
Nearly  fifteen  hundred  members  were  enrolled  on  the 
first  day.  Among  those  first  to  apply  were  many  who 
had  been  members  of  the  old  committee,  though  those 
who  had  not  arrived  in  the  city  until  after  1851  were 
equally  in  earnest.  They  waited  in  long  lines  outside 
the  building  during  the  whole  day  and  far  into  the 
night  to  reach  the  enrolling  desks,  and  for  two  or  three 
succeeding  days  and  nights  their  numbers  scarcely 
seemed  to  diminish.  From  hundreds  the  names  enrolled 
soon  numbered  thousands. 

During  the  first  few  hours  some  ten  or  twelve 
members  who  had  been  first  to  sign  the  roll  acted  with 
Coleman  and  Bluxome  as  the  executive  committee 
without  having  been  formally  chosen.  They  were  in 
fact  a  provisional  committee  only,  and  for  the  most 
part  devoted  themselves  wholly  to  the  preliminary  work 
of  organization. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         77 

One  matter  outside  this  routine  was,  however,  so 
much  in  everybody's  mind  that  action  on  it  could  not 
be  restrained.  The  "Herald,"  perhaps  the  most  influ- 
ential newspaper  in  San  Francisco,  after  the  "Bulletin," 
had  that  morning  contained  a  short  editorial  on  the 
shooting  of  King,  that  most  people  had  read  with 
indignation.  It  referred  to  it  as  an  "affray"  and 
earnestly  condemned  the  exhibition  of  "mob  spirit," 
that  had  followed  it.  The  editor  had  "sustained  the 
vigilance  committee  in  times  past  to  the  peril  of  his  life 
and  fortune,"  but  there  was  now  no  necessity  for  such 
an  organization  and  "he  could  not  help  condemning 
any  organized  infraction  of  law."  Some  highly  respect- 
able merchants  had  joined  in  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  the 
old  committee  and  he  "wished  to  be  understood  as 
unqualifiedly  condemning  the  movement."  If  Casey 
was  guilty  he  ought  to  be  punished,  though  not  until 
after  he  had  had  a  fair  trial. 

Outside  the  committee  business  men  were  resenting 
this  comment  on  their  action  of  the  night  before  and 
the  cause  of  it,  in  a  very  emphatic  way.  In  the  busiest 
part  of  the  city  all  the  copies  of  the  "  Herald  "  that  could 
found  were  gathered  up  and  burned  in  the  streets.  A 
letter  requesting  the  auctioneers  to  withdraw  their 
advertising  from  the  "Herald"  to  which  it  had  hitherto 
been  given  exclusively,  was  generally  signed,  and  the 
advertising  was  withdrawn.  The  merchants  generally 
withdrew  both  their  advertising  and  their  subscriptions. 
Next  morning  the  paper  appeared  greatly  reduced  in 
size,  and  its  editor  although  defiant  admitted  a  loss  of 
two  hundred  and  twelve  subscribers;  its  loss  of  adver- 
tising was  only  too  apparent.     It  had  received  a  blow 


78  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

from  which  it  would  never  recover.  From  being  the 
largest,  and  at  one  time  the  most  influential  and  one  of 
the  most  widely  read  papers  in  the  city,  it  thereafter 
gradually  declined  until  it  ceased  to  exist. 

Inside  the  committee  the  feeling  was  as  strong  as 
outside.  A  member  early  in  the  day  moved  that  all 
withdraw  their  patronage,  both  as  advertisers  and  sub- 
scribers, and  although  Coleman  and  one  other  member 
opposed,  it  was  carried.  So  far  as  known  this  was  the 
only  action  taken  about  which  there  was  serious  division 
of  opinion. 

It  had  early  been  apparent  that  the  single  store  room 
on  Sacramento  street  would  not  serve  the  uses  of  the 
committee,  and  messengers  had  been  sent  to  seek  for 
larger  quarters.  These  were  found  at  Turn-Verein  hall 
on  Bush  street  near  Stockton,  and  the  committee 
removed  to  them  at  the  end  of  its  first  day's  work.  By 
Saturday,  the  third  day,  it  was  necessary  to  move  again 
this  time  to  a  building  on  the  south  side  of  Sacramento 
street  between  Front  and  Davis.  This  was  a  two  story 
structure  of  stone  and  brick,  both  floors  of  which  were 
secured  and  later  occupied,  the  lower  as  an  armory 
and  drill  room,  and  the  upper  for  various  offices  and 
committee  rooms,  together  with  eight  cells  for  prisoners. 

By  this  time  more  than  five  thousand  members  had 
been  enrolled,  and  the  examining  and  enrolling  com- 
mittees were  still  busy.  No  popular  uprising  had  ever 
been  more  general.  Not  only  did  the  people  of  San 
Francisco  approve  what  all  knew  was  to  be  done,  and 
the  means  to  be  used  to  do  it,  but  cities  and  towns 
in  the  interior  were  quite  as  keenly  interested.  From 
Sacramento,  Marysville,  Stockton,  and  many  smaller 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         79 

towns  and  mining  camps  came  assurances  of  approval 
with  offers  of  support  if  there  should  be  need  for  it.  San 
Jose  offered  a  thousand  men  if  they  should  be  required, 
and  Sacramento  made  a  similar  tender.  In  many  towns 
people  assembled  as  if  moved  by  a  common  impulse  to 
express  the  hope  that  what  was  to  be  done  might  be 
done  thoroughly. 

While  the  committee  and  people  were  thus  organizing, 
the  sheriff,  the  city  and  county  officials,  and  their  sup- 
porters, were  not  idle.  The  crowds  thronging  the  doors 
of  the  committee  rooms  waiting  to  be  enrolled,  or  that 
waited  hour  after  hour  in  the  street  near  Montgomery 
block  for  news  of  King's  condition,  gave  no  surer 
evidence  than  did  the  temper  of  those  who  were 
going  on  with  the  ordinary  business  of  their  lives, 
that  trouble  was  preparing,  and  that  if  Casey  was 
ever  to  have  his  day  in  court  it  would  be  necessary 
to  keep  the  jail  under  stronger  guard  than  could  be 
instantly  commanded  in  case  of  attack.  Officers  and 
members  of  the  militia  companies  were  resigning  and 
joining  the  throngs  waiting  in  the  streets  to  sign  the 
rolls  of  the  vigilantes.  Even  the  police  were  showing 
signs  of  disaffection.  On  Friday  the  second  day  after 
the  shooting,  the  sheriff  sent  out  a  general  summons 
for  a  posse  comitatus,  but  of  the  hundreds  to  whom  it 
was  sent  only  a  few  responded,  most  of  whom  were 
lawyers  and  politicians  or  office  holders.  During  the 
day  a  meeting  of  these  few  was  held.  It  adopted  a 
resolution  expressing  "regret  of  the  injury  inflicted  on 
Mr.  King  by  one  Casey";  deprecated  the  excitement 
that  had  followed;  declared  that  in  the  event  of  the 
death  of  Mr.  King,  it  favored  "the  immediate  present- 


80  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

ment  of  Casey  by  the  grand  jury,  his  immediate  trial 
by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and  if  convicted, 
his  immediate  sentence  and  prompt  execution."  This 
would  have  been  well,  and  would  no  doubt  have  pro- 
duced a  good  effect  could  people  have  felt  a  confidence 
in  their  courts.  But  there  was  no  such  confidence. 
The  protest  that  was  preparing  was  not  alone  against 
the  killing  of  King;  it  was  to  be  even  more  vigorous 
against  the  methods  of  the  courts  in  dealing  with 
criminals. 

While  the  sheriff  and  his  sympathizers  were  thus 
employed,  the  vigilantes  were  organizing  all  their 
enrolled  members  into  companies  and  regiments.  It 
had  required  only  a  suggestion  to  set  this  work  in 
motion.  Each  hundred  in  the  order  of  enrollment  were 
to  form  a  company  and  elect  their  own  officers;  ten 
companies  would  form  a  regiment.  A  large  number  of 
French  citizens,  some  of  whom  did  not  speak  or  readily 
understand  English,  were  excepted  from  this  arrange- 
ment and  formed  companies  of  their  own.  The  officers 
of  the  militia  companies,  and  some  old  soldiers  from 
the  Stevenson  and  other  regiments,  took  an  active 
interest  in  forming  and  perfecting  the  organization, 
and  were  later  chosen  as  company  and  regimental 
officers.  Under  their  direction  drilling  was  begun  and 
kept  up  every  day,  and  sometimes  far  into  the  night, 
in  the  armory  rooms  and  in  the  streets  near  the  new 
headquarters.  An  artillery  company  commanded  by 
Colonel  Johns,  an  experienced  artillerist,  and  one  or 
two  troops  of  cavalry  were  also  organized.  Later  when 
regiments  were  formed  Charles  Doane,  a  civilian  but 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         81 

a  man  of  ability,  was  chosen  marshal  and  commander 
in  chief,  while  Captains  Lippitt,  Pinto,  Ellis,  and  Olney 
were  made  colonels. 

The  sheriff  had  seized  the  arms  of  the  militia 
companies  soon  after  these  military  preparations  were 
begun,  but  this  did  not  hinder  the  organizations  from 
getting  arms.  A  number  of  merchants  kept  firearms 
for  sale,  and  one  had  only  a  short  time  before  received 
a  large  consignment  of  flint  lock  muskets  which  had 
probably  seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war.  Enough  of 
these  were  arranged  for  to  arm  all  the  companies  then 
formed,  and  all  that  were  likely  to  be  formed.  Several 
ships  lying  in  the  harbor  contributed  a  cannon  each  for 
the  artillery.  These  were  mounted  on  the  fore  wheels 
of  wagons.  By  the  time  enrollment  ceased  the  total 
armed  force  at  the  service  of  the  committee  consisted 
of  four  regiments  and  several  independent  companies  of 
infantry,  four  companies  of  artillery  and  two  of  cavalry 
— about  six  thousand  men  in  all.  A  police  force  had 
also  been  formed  whose  members,  together  with  details 
from  the  military  companies,  patrolled  the  city  night 
and  day. 

Everything  was  directed  by  an  executive  committee 
of  which  some  thirty-seven  citizens  were  members  at 
one  time  or  another,*  though  usually  not  more  than  ten 
or  twelve  were  on  duty  at  any  one  time,  except  when 
some  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  was  under  con- 

*These  were:  William  T.  Coleman,  Thomas  J.  L.  Smiley,  James  Dows,  J.  P. 
Manrow,  S.  T.  Thompson,  W.  T.  Thompson,  R.  Beverly  Cole,  J.  S.  Emery, 
N.  O.  Arrington,  L.  Bossange,  Charles  Doane,  J.  K.  Osgood,  R.  M.  Jessup,  J.  H. 
Fish,  M.  J.  Burke,  C.  L.  Case,  F.  W.  Page,  Emile  Grisar,  Clancey  J.  Dempster, 
J.  D.  Farwell,  O.  B.  Crary,  William  H.  Tillinghast,  William  Arrington,  E.  O.  Flint, 
W.  T.  Reynolds,  Eugene  Delessert,  N.  P.  Hutchings,  J.  W.  Brittain,  William  H. 
Rogers,  Miers  F.  Truett,  C.  V.  Gillespie,  Isaac  Calvin  Nutting,  James  Ludlow, 
Jules  David,  A.  L.  Tubbs,  H.  M.  Hale,  and  A.  M.  Burns. 


82  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

slderation.  Their  decisions,  or  those  of  a  majority, 
were  final  in  all  matters  except  when  persons  were 
sentenced  to  death  or  banishment;  these  were  subject 
to  review  by  a  board  of  delegates,  composed  of  three 
members  of  each  military  company,  and  if  not  approved 
were  not  executed.  It  does  not  appear  that  this  board 
ever  failed  to  approve  in  any  case,  so  carefully  and  in 
such  good  order  was  everything  done. 

On  Sunday,  the  fourth  day  after  King  was  shot,  he 
was  still  alive,  but  it  had  been  impossible  to  move  him 
from  the  room  in  Montgomery  block  to  which  he  had 
been  taken  soon  after  the  shooting.  He  was  attended 
by  his  wife  and  by  half  a  dozen  doctors.  There  was  no 
hope  for  his  recovery,  though  none  could  tell  how  long 
he  might  live.  His  strong  frame  and  splendid  courage 
had  enabled  him  to  withstand  a  shock  that  would  have 
killed  one  physically  less  strong  or  of  less  heroic  nature. 
Small  knots  of  anxious  watchers  still  waited  about  the 
building  for  the  bulletins  issued  from  time  to  time  by 
the  doctors.  All  felt  that  the  sufferer's  life  was  trem- 
bling in  the  balance,  and  that  his  death  would  certainly 
be  followed  by  the  swift  punishment  of  his  murderer. 

The  jail  had  also  been  the  center  of  a  watchful 
interest.  The  sheriff  had  early  been  notified  by  the 
vigilantes  that  he  would  be  held  to  a  strict  account 
if  Casey  escaped.  It  was  not  forgotten  that  Billy 
Mulligan  was  in  charge  there.  The  oft  repeated  advice 
of  the  "Bulletin"  that  if  Cora  was  allowed  to  go  free 
then  "hang  Billy  Mulligan,"  was  in  everybody's  mind; 
and  now  if  Casey  should  be  found  missing  the  demand 
for  Mulligan's  execution  would  be  universal.  The 
sheriff  was  properly  alert.     Finding  that  there  were 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         83 

few  on  whom  he  could  rely  in  case  of  need,  except  his 
own  deputies,  he  had  early  called  upon  Governor 
Johnson  for  assistance. 

The  governor  came  down  from  Sacramento  on 
Friday  evening,  at  the  invitation  of  the  mayor,  and 
went  direct  from  the  boat  to  the  International  hotel 
where  Coleman  met  him  shortly  after  his  arrival.*  He 
knew  Coleman  well,  and  apparently  wished  to  confer 
with  him  before  meeting  the  sheriff  and  others.  At  his 
request  Coleman  gave  him  a  brief  statement  of  the 
condition  of  affairs,  told  him  what  the  committee  hoped 
to  accomplish,  though  probably  without  going  into 
details  as  to  the  things  to  be  done.  They  hoped  to  do 
all  in  a  peaceable  way,  but  if  there  must  be  war,  they 
would  be  ready  for  it.  The  ablest  and  best  men  in  the 
city  were  actively  directing  all  that  was  done;  they 
were  supported  by  nearly  the  whole  mass  of  citizens 
and  it  would  be  useless  to  resist  them.  When  he  had 
finished  Coleman  says  the  governor  slapped  him  on  the 
shoulder  and  said,  "Go  it,  old  boy!  But  get  through 
as  quickly  as  you  can.  Don't  prolong  it;  because  there 
is  terrible  opposition  and  terrible  pressure." 

A  few  days  before  King  was  shot  the  governor  had 
tendered  Captain  William  T.  Sherman,  then  manager 
of  Lucas,  Turner,  &  Company's  bank,  an  appointment 
as  major  general  of  militia,  and  Sherman  had  accepted. 
He  had  gone  to  the  boat  in  company  with  Cornelius  K. 
Garrison  on  that  evening  to  meet  the  governor  but  had 
missed  him,  though  he  found  him  later  at  the  hotel  and 
remained  with  him  until  after  2  a.  m.     The  next  day, 

•See  article  by  William  T.  Coleman  in  Century  Magazine  for  November,  1891. 


84  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

apparently,*  he  wrote  a  full  account  of  what  happened 
to  Major  Turner,  his  partner  in  St.  Louis,  which  is 
altogether  the  most  reliable  report  of  what  transpired 
that  now  exists,  as  all  others  were  written  many  years 
later.  He  appears  not  to  have  known  that  the  governor 
had  met  Coleman,  as  he  does  not  mention  the  meeting; 
and  Coleman's  account  of  the  later  meeting  at  com- 
mittee headquarters  says  that  the  governor  asked  him 
the  same  questions  he  had  asked  at  the  hotel,  just  as 
if  he  had  not  previously  seen  him. 

Sherman  had  visited  the  jail  on  Thursday,  and  after 
he  found  Johnson,  had  told  him  that  the  place  could  not 
be  defended.  He  had  found  the  sheriff  supported  by 
not  more  than  a  hundred  men,  including  the  deputies, 
the  police,  and  the  citizens  who  had  responded  to  his 
summons.  The  militia  companies  were  practically 
disbanded  and  many  of  their  members  had  gone  over 
to  the  committee.  The  only  way  that  so  small  a  force 
could  hope  to  resist  the  numbers  likely  to  attack  them, 
would  be  to  take  possession  of  all  neighboring  buildings, 
and  other  points  of  vantage  in  the  neighborhood;  and 
it  was  now  too  late  to  do  this  as  the  vigilantes  had 
already  seized  them. 

After  making  this  statement  he  and  Garrison, 
together  with  the  governor,  made  a  visit  to  and 
inspected  the  jail,  after  which  they  went  to  the  com- 
mittee headquarters  in  Turn-Verein  hall,  and  asked  for 
Coleman.  He  soon  after  came  out  and  conferred  with 
them  in  a  saloon  near  the  entrance  of  the  building. 
According  to  Coleman's  report  he  went  over  practically 

*The  letter  is  not  dated,  though  a  postscript  is  dated  Sunday  afternoon.     See 
Century  Magazine  for  December,  1891. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         85 

the  same  ground  as  in  the  earlier  interview.  Sherman 
says  Coleman  outlined  what  the  vigilance  committee 
intended  to  do,  particularly  in  the  case  of  King's  death, 
and  adds,  "all  of  which  was  so  fair  that  we  almost  coin- 
cided with  him  in  opinion."  He  at  first  wanted  Casey 
surrendered  to  the  committee,  but  Johnson  told  him 
"he  would  enforce  the  law  as  speedily  as  its  form  would 
allow,  but  would  never  consent  to  Casey's  being  taken 
from  the  custody  of  the  sheriff."* 

Finally  the  governor  suggested  that  if  the  committee 
felt  doubtful  about  Casey's  safe  keeping,  they  "send  a 
few  men  to  the  jail  to  be  considered  as  assistant  guards," 
the  committee  to  give  their  pledge  that  they  would  not 
attempt  any  violence,  or  conspire  with  those  outside 
to  take  Casey  from  the  sheriff's  care;  and  if  a  change  of 
purpose  became  necessary,  these  assistant  guards  should 
be  withdrawn,  or  "reasonable  notice  given." 

Coleman  then  returned  to  the  committee  rooms  to 
submit  this  proposition  to  his  associates,  while  the 
governor  and  party  waited.  Later  he  returned  accom- 
panied by  six  other  members  of  the  executive  committee 
and  after  some  discussion,  and  with  slight  modification 
of  the  governor's  proposition,  it  was  accepted,  the 
governor  asking  all  to  understand  that  "he  treated 
with  them  as  individuals,  and  not  in  their  capacity  as 
a  body  of  men  leagued  together  for  a  purpose  unknown 
to  the  law." 


*Other  accounts  say  that  he  proposed  to  guarantee,  in  addition,  that  Casey- 
should  be  tried  before  Judge  Norton.  This  was  Myron  Norton  who  had  been  a 
leader  in  the  constitutional  convention,  and  as  a  judge  had  lost  none  of  the  public 
confidence  and  esteem  he  had  won  at  that  time.  The  committee,  however,  did 
not  care  to  accept  the  governor's  offer,  fearing  perhaps  that  he  might  not  be  able 
to  carry  it  into  effect. 


86  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Ten  men  to  act  as  assistant  guards  were  soon  chosen, 
and  the  governor  and  his  party,  together  with  Coleman 
and  Miers  F.  Truett  went  to  the  jail  to  install  them. 
The  sheriff  was  at  first  loath  to  admit  them,  but  finally- 
yielded,  and  two  o'clock  Saturday  morning  they  were 
taken  inside,  a  room  assigned  them,  and  two  of  them 
stationed  near  the  door  of  Casey's  cell. 

In  the  letter  written  to  his  partner.  General  Sherman 
describes  what  was  said  and  done  at  this  time,  from  the 
view-point  of  an  officer  of  the  state  militia,  a  loyal  sup- 
porter of  the  governor  and  co-worker  with  the  sheriff 
and  mayor  to  maintain  the  law.  In  another  written 
about  the  same  time*  to  his  father-in-law,  Hon.  Thomas 
Ewing  of  Ohio,  he  more  frankly  discloses  his  own  indi- 
vidual view  of  things.  He  describes  the  conditions  in 
the  city  as  quite  as  bad  as  other  writers  have  pictured 
them.  Officials  had  been  elected  by  ballot  box  stuffers 
and  were  for  the  most  part  the  kind  of  men  that  such 
people  would  elect.  The  sheriff  was  "  a  shoulder  hitter" 
and  had  been  deserted  by  all  except  about  one  hundred 
supporters.  The  mayor  was  "a  large,  good  man  but 
as  usual  so  mussed  up  and  involved  in  old  business  that 
he  could  do  nothing."  The  military  companies  shared 
in  the  general  sentiment  and  would  not  risk  themselves 
to  defend  such  rascals  as  Cora  and  Casey.  "The  entire 
community  is  on  one  side."  At  no  time,  by  concentrat- 
ing all  the  discordant  elements,  could  he  count  on  more 
than  a  hundred  inexperienced  men  to  follow  his  lead, 
if  he  should  attempt  to  exercise  his  authority  under  his 
new  commission.  With  the  conduct  of  the  committee 
and  those  who  were  obeying  it  he  could  find  no  fault 

•It  18  dated  May  21.     Century  Magazine  for  December,  1891,  p.  301. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         87 

so  far  except  that  they  were  "showing  an  enmity  to 
the  free  expression  of  opinion  that  looks  like  other 
similar  events  in  history." 

On  Saturday  the  governor  was  sharply  criticized  by 
some  of  the  sheriff's  citizen  supporters,  particularly 
by  those  who  were  lawyers,  for  having  conferred  with 
Coleman  and  his  co-workers,  as  well  as  for  admitting 
ten  of  them  to  the  jail  as  extra  guards.  The  sheriff, 
possibly  at  the  suggestion  of  the  same  advisers,  had 
called  at  the  committee  rooms  and  asked  to  have  the 
ten  men  reduced  to  five;  but  this  was  refused,  and  he 
had  suggested  other  modifications  of  the  arrangement 
made  the  night  previous,  to  which  the  committee 
refused  to  agree.  The  governor,  a  notably  weak  man, 
who  had  thus  far  been  less  anxious  to  find  out  what  was 
right  and  practical  to  do  than  what  was  likely  to  be  most 
politic,  began  to  be  uneasy  and  sent  for  Sherman.  He 
was  told  that  the  committee  had  already  repudiated 
the  agreement  made  only  a  few  hours  before,  and  when 
Sherman  arrived  they  went  together  to  the  new  com- 
mittee headquarters  to  inquire  about  it.  Coleman  was 
not  present,  but  other  members  assured  them  that 
nothing  had  been  changed. 

Sherman's  letters  indicate  that  he  and  the  governor 
suspected  a  revolution  had  taken  place  in  the  committee 
because  they  did  not  find  the  same  men  on  duty  that 
they  had  formerly  met.  They  fancied  that  a  more 
radical  and  less  responsible  element  was  now  in 
control,  and  that  perhaps  Coleman  had  been  deposed. 
They  did  not  reflect,  or  possibly  did  not  know,  that 
the  committee  was  always  in  session  and  that  the 
members    on    duty    changed    as    often    as    exhausted 


88  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

nature  required.  Those  they  now  met  did  not  mis- 
understand or  misinterpret  the  agreement  made  the 
night  previous,  though  it  is  quite  possible  that  they 
were  not  incHned  to  accept  the  interpretation  the  gov- 
ernor, now  that  he  knew  what  others  thought  about  it, 
wished  to  put  upon  it;  and  to  prove  that  there  had  been 
no  change,  and  make  sure  that  none  would  be  made  by 
others,  they  made  a  redeclaration  in  the  form  of  a  resolu- 
tion, soon  after  the  governor  had  departed,  and  sent  him 
a  copy  by  the  hands  of  a  committee,  so  that  he  could  not 
fail  to  receive  it.  This  resolution  declared  that  the  com- 
mittee would  make  no  change  at  the  county  jail;  that  it 
had  no  further  answer  to  make  at  that  time;  that  the 
governor  should  be  notified  that  it  maintained  the  agree- 
ment made  the  night  before,  but  that  it  involved  no 
pledge  on  the  part  of  the  committee,  except  that  it  would 
make  no  attack  on  the  j  ail  while  its  guards  remained  in  it. 
On  Sunday  morning  May  i8th  the  streets  of  San 
Francisco  presented  a  scene  of  unwonted  activity  for 
that  day  of  the  week.  There  were  as  many  people  in 
them  as  on  other  days  when  all  the  stores  and  shops 
were  open,  and  all  were  tending  toward  the  building 
on  Sacramento  street  near  Davis.  No  alarm  had  been 
sounded.  People  went  their  way  as  peaceably  as  if 
going  to  church,  though  none  seemingly  were  seeking 
the  houses  of  worship.  If  any  talked  together  as  they 
walked,  it  was  without  show  of  excitement  and  in  the 
tone  of  ordinary  conversation.  There  were  inquiries 
about  King's  condition,  and  those  who  had  information 
gave  it.  He  was  still  alive,  but  as  before  there  was  no 
hope  of  his  recovery.  It  was  only  a  question  of  hours 
when  his  life  must  end. 


EDSON  ADAMS 
Born  in  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut,  May  i8,  1824;  died 
December  14,  1888;  came  to  California  in  July,  1849,  and  after 
a  brief  visit  to  the  mines  he  located  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  on  the  San  Antonio  Estuary  (Oakland  creek) 
at  what  is  now  the  foot  of  Broadway  and  extending  northerly 
to  about  where  Fourteenth  street  now  runs.  This  land  was 
supposed  to  belong  to  the  public  domain,  but  was  afterwards 
found  to  be  a  part  of  the  San  Antonio  grant  and  Mr.  Adams 
subsequently  effected  a  settlement  with  the  Peraltas  for  the 
land  he  occupied. 


were 
erne 


'..lit,  .U-^81  ,viuT,  fn-airr.uj'!iu 
■3ibnur[  ano  fa- 
wu„,jIbO)  x^cijJeH  v.,.,,.,,,/.  „,-■:,  .,.,.   i,w 

non.^mbfi3JZ9  bn^if«wbs9iS%k!^^.'?4t^ftti  ^tEit^ne^  that  the 

ficLgifiT     .an in  7/00  laai'- 

/■lajH  3J5W  iijff  .niiirnob  or!' 


i  not  mis - 

made  the 

that  they 

he  gov- 

ht  about  it, 

■ad  been 

nade  by 

I  resolu- 

€nt  him 

nioSe  could  not 

'  "^^!ft  the  com- 

^,_,i|il;thatit 


of  ordinary  con 

■  King's  conditio; 

He  was  stiii 


;flhe  agree- 

•ved  no 

t  would 

ledini't 

of  San 

on  ted  activity  for 

"  -ry  people  in 

and  shops 

buildinr 

\d  been 

IS  if 

viking 

as  they 

d  in  the 

vvere  inquiries 

:.'.  aad  information 

efore  there  was  no 


his  recovery.     It  was  only  a  question  of  hours 
'■Q  must  end. 


6. 


o^^c^^^  ^  ^  ^:^^,,.:rz^ 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         89 

Along  Sacramento  street,  in  Davis,  Front,  and  other 
streets  men  with  muskets  and  bayonets  in  their  hands 
were  forming  in  companies  of  hundreds  as  they  arrived; 
but  as  drilling  had  been  going  on  there  the  day  before, 
and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Turn-Verein  hall  the 
day  previous  to  that,  this  was  at  first  not  a  matter  to 
excite  remark.  The  armed  companies  soon  extended 
to  other  streets  and  began  to  assume  the  proportions 
of  an  army.  One  or  two  companies  were  mounted  as 
if  to  form  a  scouting  party,  and  there  was  also  a  cannon 
drawn  by  horses.  A  man  on  a  white  horse  was  riding 
along  the  lines  as  they  were  formed,  and  others  were 
carrying  his  order  in  various  directions.  Other  long 
lines  of  men  without  arms,  but  apparently  having  some 
part  and  interest  in  what  was  going  on,  were  forming 
while  still  others  watched  the  scene  curiously  but 
approvingly  from  windows  and  housetops. 

A  little  after  noon  these  armed  and  unarmed  men 
began  to  move  west  along  Sacramento,  California,  and 
Clay  streets,  turning  into  Montgomery,  Kearny,  Dupont, 
and  Stockton  streets  as  they  reached  them.  Though 
not  uniformed  all  marched  with  the  regularity  of  sol- 
diers, without  confusion  and  without  noise  of  any  kind 
except  the  commands  of  the  officers  which  were  quietly 
given.  Crowds  followed,  while  hundreds  looked  down 
upon  the  marchers  from  windows  and  roofs  along  all 
the  streets  through  which  they  passed.  The  governor 
had  been  notified  some  time  during  the  forenoon  that 
the  special  guard  would  be  immediately  withdrawn 
from  the  jail,  and  as  this,  according  to  the  formal  notice 
sent  him  the  day  previous,  was  the  signal  that  the  truce 
was  at  an  end,  he  had  immediately  sent  for  Sherman. 


90  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Together  they  watched  the  moving  masses  in  the  streets 
from  the  roof  of  the  International  hotel,  a  five  story- 
building  on  Jackson  street  between  Montgomery  and 
Kearny.  Sherman  estimated  the  armed  marchers  at 
twenty-five  hundred  and  the  unarmed,  who  marched 
arm  in  arm  beside  them,  at  as  many  more,  while  at 
least  five  thousand  "followed  them  as  to  a  show." 
There  were  at  least  ten  thousand  waiting  for  them 
"within  a  rifle  shot  of  the  jail.  Telegraph  hill  was 
black  with  them." 

As  the  marching  columns  reached  Broadway,  they 
turned  into  it  from  east  and  west  and  formed  a  line 
facing  the  jail.  The  cannon  was  brought  up,  planted 
immediately  in  front  of  the  building,  loaded  and  aimed 
at  the  door.  A  carriage  followed  containing  Coleman 
and  Miers  F.  Truett.  It  stopped  near  the  strong 
wooden  steps  leading  up  from  the  street,  where  it 
waited  while  its  occupants  alighted,  mounted  the  steps 
and  advanced  to  the  jail  door. 

Sheriff  Scannell  was  inside  with  some  twenty  or  thirty 
deputies.  The  governor  had  called  there  after  receiving 
notice  from  the  vigilantes  that  the  guard  had  been  with- 
drawn, and  they  had  taken  council  together  as  to  what 
the  sheriff  should  do  in  case  such  a  demand  as  was  now 
to  be  made  should  be  presented.  It  was  evident  that 
he  could  not  successfully  resist  it;  to  fight  to  defend 
the  jail  would  be  madness;  many  might  be  killed  but  the 
jail  would  inevitably  be  captured  and  the  prisoners 
taken.  The  governor  had  therefore  advised  that  if  the 
committee  appeared  "with  sufficient  force  to  make 
resistance  idle,  the  prisoners  should  be  given  up  under 
protest." 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         91 

There  could  be  no  doubt  about  the  sufficiency  of  the 
committee's  force.  Coleman  and  Truett  were  accord- 
ingly admitted,  but  were  told  that  Casey  was  armed 
with  a  knife  and  threatened  to  resist.  This  was  true, 
but  he  was  persuaded,  without  a  long  parley,  that 
resistance  would  do  him  no  good  and  he  gave  up  the 
weapon. 

When  Coleman  and  Truett  appeared  at  the  jail  door 
with  their  prisoner,  the  crowds  began  to  cheer,  but  the 
demonstration  was  soon  suppressed  by  the  committee- 
men and  officers.  Caseywas  led  to  the  carriage  which 
he  entered  and  was  driven  to  Sacramento  street,  accom- 
panied by  a  sufficient  guard,  the  main  body  remaining 
as  originally  stationed  at  the  jail.  It  was  evident  to 
the  waiting  crowds  that  Casey  was  not  the  only  prisoner 
to  be  removed,  and  they  had  not  long  to  wait  to  learn 
who  the  other  prisoner  was;  for  the  carriage  soon 
returned  and  Cora  was  brought  out.  The  armed 
marchers  accompanied  it  to  headquarters,  and  then 
marched  to  the  water  front  where  their  muskets  and 
rifles  were  discharged  into  the  bay.  They  had  evi- 
dently been  ready  for  serious  use  had  there  been  need, 
but  there  was  none.  The  crowds  quietly  dispersed  and 
before  the  close  of  the  day  the  city  was  as  quiet  as  it 
had  ever  been  on  any  Sunday  afternoon. 

Casey  and  Cora  were  lodged  in  separate  cells — two 
of  the  eight  with  which  the  new  headquarters  had 
already  been  provided.  On  searching  the  prisoners 
after  their  arrival,  Casey  was  found  to  have  carried  a 
second  knife  concealed  in  his  boot,  though  he  had  not 
attempted  to  use  it.  That  he  should  have  been  per- 
mitted to  have  two  such  weapons  in  his  possession. 


92  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

shows  that  there  was  good  reason  to  distrust  both  the 
efficiency  and  the  fidelity  of  the  sheriff  and  his  deputies 
as  keepers  of  dangerous  criminals. 

The  prisoners  were  no  longer  allowed  to  see  visitors. 
Even  the  archbishop  of  the  diocese,  who  asked  to  visit 
Casey  as  his  spiritual  adviser  was  refused;  one  of  Cora's 
attorneys  who  applied  was  told  that  his  client  would 
have  no  further  need  for  his  services.  The  sheriff 
accompanied  by  a  deputy  appeared  later  with  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  but  was  told  that  it  would  not  be 
recognized. 

The  trial  of  the  prisoners  by  the  executive  committee 
was  fixed  for  Tuesday,  May  20th.  Before  it  was  begun, 
it  was  resolved  that  no  adjournment,  or  recess  for  more 
than  thirty  minutes  should  be  taken  until  it  was  con- 
cluded; that  only  one  person  should  question  the  wit- 
nesses on  direct  examination,  though  any  member  of 
the  committee  might  cross-examine;  that  each  prisoner 
might  select  any  member  of  the  committee  he  preferred 
to  act  as  his  attorney,  or  assist  in  his  defense;  that  a 
majority  vote  might  convict,  and  that  a  verdict  of 
conviction  so  found  should  be  reported  for  approval  to 
the  general  body  of  the  committee,  as  if  found  by 
unanimous  vote. 

Cora  was  arraigned  first.  He  chose  Miers  F.Truett 
for  his  attorney  and  Truett  asked  to  be  assisted  by 
Thomas  J.  L.  Smiley,  which  was  allowed.  John  P. 
Manrow  acted  as  prosecutor.  All  the  witnesses  asked 
for  by  the  defendant  were  summoned,  as  well  as 
those  for  the  prosecution.  All  were  fully  examined  and 
their  testimony  taken  down  in  writing.  The  prisoner 
no  longer  displayed  the  confident  air  he  had  shown  so 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         93 

offensively  when  tried  in  court;  he  evidently  realized 
that  he  was  on  trial  for  his  life,  and  that  the  trial  was  in 
earnest.  He  gave  the  closest  attention  to  everything 
and  when  all  was  done  and  the  case  submitted,  is  said 
to  have  expressed  satisfaction  with  the  defense  made 
for  him. 

Casey's  trial  followed  immediately,  the  same  gentle- 
men who  had  served  in  Cora's  case  acting  for  the 
prosecution  and  defense.  Both  trials  were  concluded 
by  Wednesday  morning,  and  each  resulted  in  a  verdict 
of  guilty.  No  other  verdict  in  fact  was  possible  in  a 
court  when  evidence  was  taken  at  its  true  meaning. 
Each  had  shot  a  man  almost  without  warning,  giving 
him  no  opportunity  to  defend  himself.  Neither  victim 
had  had  arms  in  his  hands;  and  if  he  had  a  weapon 
about  him  had  no  time  to  draw  it.  Cora  had  pleaded 
that  he  had  believed  his  life  in  danger,  and  so  sought 
to  make  it  appear  that  he  had  acted  in  self  defense. 
Casey  claimed  that  an  injury  had  been  done  him  which 
he  had  a  right  to  resent,  and  that  he  had  called  upon 
his  victim  to  defend  himself  before  he  shot  him;  but 
both  pleas  were  held  to  be  insufficient.  They  were  in 
fact  trivial  and  only  a  special  pleader  could  make  them 
appear  otherwise. 

The  findings  of  the  executive  committee  in  both 
cases  were  referred  to  the  board  of  delegates,  which  was 
composed  of  eighty-one  members,  and  by  it  approved. 
The  sentence  was  death  and  the  hour  of  execution  was 
fixed  for  Friday  the  20th,  at  twelve  o'clock. 

Soon  after  the  trial  of  Cora  had  been  begun  on 
Tuesday  the  death  of  King  had  been  announced.  He 
had  expired  at  half  past  one  o'clock.     As  soon  as  news 


94  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  it  was  received  all  business  was  suspended  in  the 
city,  and  people  began  to  drape  their  houses  and  other 
buildings  with  black.  All  flags,  including  those  on 
ships  lying  in  the  harbor,  were  lowered  to  half  mast, 
and  the  bells  on  churches  and  engine  houses  were  tolled. 
An  immense  crowd  assembled  about  the  building  in 
which  the  body  lay,  and  as  soon  as  it  could  be  prepared 
for  burial  the  people  were  admitted  to  view  it. 

Thursday  at  noon  was  appointed  for  the  funeral, 
and  long  before  that  hour  an  immense  crowd  had 
assembled,  while  all  the  streets  through  which  the  body 
would  be  borne  toward  Lone  Mountain  were  lined  with 
patient  multitudes,  waiting  to  pay  a  silent  tribute  of 
respect  to  a  brave  neighbor  who  had  sacrificed  his  life 
in  defense  of  the  good  name  of  their  city.  At  the  hour 
appointed  the  hearse,  drawn  by  four  white  horses  and 
attended  by  fourteen  pall  bearers,  preceded  by  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  followed  by  friends,  moved  to 
the  Unitarian  church  on  Stockton  street,  where  the 
funeral  services  were  held,  after  which  the  funeral  pro- 
cession was  reformed  and  proceeded  to  the  cemetery. 
In  it  besides  the  Masonic  bodies,  mourners,  friends, 
and  officiating  clergymen,  were  the  employees  of  the 
"Bulletin,"  the  California  Pioneers  in  full  regalia,  mem- 
bers of  the  press,  Sacramento  guards  in  uniform,  San 
Francisco  fire  department,  St.  Mary's  Library  associ- 
ation, and  members  of  various  civic  societies  and  work- 
men's guilds,  making  a  funeral  display  such  as  had 
never  before  and  has  rarely  since  been  seen  in  San 
Francisco. 

While  these  funeral  arrangements  were  preparing  the 
executive  committee  of  the  vigilantes  had  met  and 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         95 

resolved  that  the  execution  of  Casey  and  Cora  should 
take  place  while  the  funeral  was  in  progress,  and  that 
they  should  be  hanged  in  front  of  the  committee  rooms. 
Both  were  notified  to  prepare  immediately  for  death. 
Casey  had  been  permitted  to  write  to  his  mother  to 
whom  he  was  much  devoted,  and  to  see  such  friends  as 
were  necessary  to  arrange  his  business  affairs.  Two 
priests  of  the  Catholic  church  were  summoned,  and  the 
woman  who  had  poured  out  her  money  so  freely  to  save 
Cora's  life  was  sent  for  in  order  that  she  might  be  united 
to  him  in  marriage. 

Meantime  a  platform  was  prepared  in  front  of  the 
windows  of  the  second  story  of  committee  headquarters, 
above  which  two  noosed  ropes  depended  from  beams 
projecting  above  the  roof  parapet.  The  armed  and 
unarmed  legions  which  had  marched  so  quietly  to 
and  from  the  jail  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  were  drawn 
up  in  Sacramento,  Front,  and  Davis  streets,  and  cannon 
were  so  placed  as  to  command  all  possible  approaches. 
The  roofs  of  all  buildings  were  covered  with  spectators. 
Thousands  who  had  overlooked  the  procession  which 
followed  King  to  his  grave  had  hurried  toward  commit- 
tee headquarters  as  soon  as  it  had  passed,  anticipating 
what  was  to  be  done  there. 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  the  prisoners  were  led 
through  the  opened  windows  to  the  scaffold.  The 
arms  of  both  were  pinioned.  Each  was  attended  by 
his  confessor,  and  appeared  to  be  resolved  to  meet  his 
fate  calmly.  Both  were  offered  an  opportunity  to 
speak  if  they  wished  to  do  so.  Cora  declined  to  say 
anything,  but  Casey  spoke  for  some  minutes,  denying 
that  he  was  a  murderer,  insisting  that  he  had  rightfully 


96  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

resented  an  injury,  and  that  his  faults  were  those  of 
his  early  education.  He  grew  excited  and  somewhat 
incoherent  as  he  progressed,  and  seemed  likely  to 
become  hysterical  but  he  did  not. 

When  he  had  finished  the  ropes  were  quickly  adjusted 
and  the  traps  sprung.  Though  all  arrangements  for 
the  double  execution  had  been  hurriedly  made,  every 
part  of  the  instrument  of  death  performed  its  office 
readily,  and  apparently  without  inflicting  unnecessary 
pain.  The  bodies  were  left  hanging  nearly  an  hour 
and  were  then  turned  over  to  the  coroner.  Later  that 
of  Cora  was  delivered  to  the  woman  who  had  been  his 
mistress  and  was  now  his  widow;  that  of  Casey  was 
taken  in  charge  by  the  Crescent  Fire  Engine  Company 
of  which  he  had  once  been  captain.  It  was  buried  in 
the  cemetery  of  the  Mission  Dolores,  where  the  monu- 
ment erected  by  his  comrades  marks  the  grave  to  this 
day. 

The  committee  now  resolved  to  purge  its  enrollment 
of  undesirable  characters,  for  the  work  it  had  to  do  was 
not  yet  completed.  Some  such  characters  were  known 
to  have  joined  its  ranks,  and  it  was  suspected  that 
others  had  done  so.  These  could  have  no  interest  in 
what  was  to  be  done,  except  to  balk  and  hinder  it;  they 
would  be  as  spies  in  the  camp  to  give  timely  warning 
to  their  fellows  if  in  danger,  and  worse  still  by  their 
evil  deeds  might  bring  good  work  into  disrepute. 

What  had  been  done  so  far  had  been  punitory  only; 
that  which  remained  to  do  was  to  be  reformative.  In  do- 
ing it  it  might  at  some  time  be  necessary  to  work  close  to 
the  line  of  private  right,  and  the  committee  did  not 
intend  to  overstep  it,  even  inadvertently.     The  guilt 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         97 

of  Cora  and  Casey  had  been  clear  and  the  proof 
abundant — nobody  doubted  it.  The  penalty  they  had 
suffered  had  been  that  prescribed  by  law  for  the  crimes 
they  had  committed.  If  it  had  not  been  inflicted  in 
the  mode  prescribed  by  law,  it  was  because  those  whose 
duty  it  was  to  inflict  it  had  made  the  law  inoperative. 
Some  of  these  were  now  to  be  brought  to  book.  Some 
of  them  were  known  and  some  only  suspected.  To 
bring  their  offenses  home  to  all,  or  even  the  worst  of 
these  would  require  secrecy,  loyalty,  tact,  and  courage 
and  every  worker  must  be  thoroughly  in  earnest.  As 
in  the  other  cases  the  punishment  to  be  meted  out  to 
the  guilty  might  not  be  inflicted  in  a  legal  way,  but  it 
would  be  no  more  grievous  than  that  the  law  would 
impose,  if  in  unrestricted  operation;  there  would  be 
nothing  vindictive  about  it. 

A  sub-committee  was  appointed  in  every  company 
to  eliminate  its  undesirable  members  and  report  their 
names.  The  executive  committee  itself  was  reorganized 
and  its  work  divided.  A  black  list  of  certain  notorious 
bad  characters  was  made  up,  and  certain  other  names 
were  reported  for  investigation.  Special  effort  to  arrest 
Ned  McGowan  and  Peter  Wightman,  who  had  been 
conveniently  near  when  Casey  shot  King,  and  were 
believed  to  have  really  been  his  accomplices,  was 
ordered  but  they  were  then  in  hiding  and  afterwards  fled 
the  city.*  Rewards  for  their  apprehension  were  offered 
and  some  of  those  who  joined  in  the  search  for  them 

*McGowan  wandered  for  several  weeks  in  the  mountains  along  the  coast  as 
far  south  as  Santa  Barbara,  and  sometimes  narrowly  escaped  arrest  when  forced 
to  leave  his  hiding  place  in  search  of  food.  He  afterwards  returned  to  the  city 
and  published  an  account  of  his  relations  with  Casey  and  of  his  flight  and 
subsequent  wanderings. 


98  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

entered  private  houses  without  authority,  in  some  cases 
claiming  to  act  by  direction  of  the  committee.  Those 
who  thus  abused  the  right  of  search  were  reprimanded 
or  dismissed  and  the  chief  of  the  committee's  detective 
force  was  changed. 

Apprehension  of  objectionable  characters  was  begun 
on  Sunday,  May  23d,  when  five  of  the  most  notorious 
with  Billy  Mulligan  at  their  head  were  taken  into 
custody.  Their  trial  began  on  the  27th,  and  ended 
with  a  verdict  that  Billy  MuUigan,  "Yankee"  Sullivan, 
Martin  Gallagher,  Billy  Carr,  and  William  Kearny  had 
been  for  years  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  leaders 
of  an  organized  gang  of  ballot  box  stuifers  and  pests  of 
society,  and  they  were  ordered  to  be  deported,  with  a 
warning  never  to  return  under  penalty  of  death.  This 
order  was  approved  by  the  board  of  delegates  and  all 
the  defendants  were  in  time  sent  away  except  Sullivan, 
who  committed  suicide  in  his  cell. 

Early  in  this  part  of  its  work  one  of  the  ballot  boxes 
which  had  been  used  in  precincts  where  Sullivan  and 
others  of  his  kind  had  been  judges  of  election,  to  secure 
the  success  of  their  candidates,  was  found  and  taken 
to  the  committee  rooms.  It  was  apparently  an  honest 
box  about  two  feet  long,  fourteen  inches  wide  and  a 
foot  deep  with  a  narrow  moulding  around  the  bottom- 
There  was  a  hole  on  the  top  for  the  introduction  of 
ballots  and  a  lock  on  the  lid,  all  seemingly  regular,  and 
the  box  was  painted  blue.  Close  examination,  however, 
showed  that  the  moulding  concealed  a  false  bottom 
with  a  narrow  space  between  it  and  the  true  one. 
There  was  also  a  false  end  of  similar  kind,  and  the  lock 
could  be  turned  without  its  key  by  pressing  the  lid  at 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856         99 

the  proper  place.  To  elect  any  candidate  or  set  of 
candidates  with  this  dependable  machine  it  was  only 
necessary  to  place  as  many  folded  ballots  containing 
their  names  as  might  be  thought  necessary  in  the  spaces 
between  the  false  and  true  bottom  and  ends,  before  the 
voting  began.  Then  it  might  be  watched  all  day  by 
any  number  of  alert  challengers  until  the  voting  closed, 
when  in  rearranging  the  tables  and  chairs  to  begin  the 
count,  or  at  some  other  convenient  time,  it  would  be 
easy  for  the  judge  in  charge  to  invert  the  box,  withdraw 
the  false  bottom  and  end  also  if  thought  necessary — ■ 
allow  the  false  ballots  to  mix  with  the  genuine,  and  then 
return  the  false  bottom  and  end  to  their  places.  Presto 
change!  The  elected  candidates  were  defeated  and  the 
defeated  ones  elected. 

This  box  was  exhibited  on  June  14th  at  a  public 
meeting  held  in  front  of  the  Oriental  hotel  and  attended 
by  possibly  fifteen  thousand  people.  Bailie  Peyton 
held  it  up  so  that  all  might  see  it.  It  was,  he  said,  "a 
double  improved  back  action  ballot  box."  It  was 
a  harp  of  a  thousand  strings,  but  he  could  not  play  upon 
it,  though  he  believed  Ned  McGowan  might,  if  he  could 
be  found.  In  his  hands,  or  the  hands  of  such  as  he,  it 
was  a  powerful  machine,  for  it  could  elevate  the  meanest 
vagabond  to  the  highest  office  in  the  people's  gift. 

An  eifort  to  secure  Mulligan's  release  by  habeas 
corpus,  was  made  after  he  was  convicted,  but  the  com- 
mittee cleverly  evaded  it.  Meantime  it  went  on  with 
its  work  of  driving  bad  characters  from  the  city. 
Edward  Bulger,  Charles  P.  Duane,  John  Crowe,  Ira 
Cole,  James  Hennessy,  John  W.  Bagley,  James  Cusick, 
Terrence  Kelley,  James  Claughley,  Jacob  Ritchie,  Jack 


100  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

McGuire,  and  Michael  Brannigan  were  arraigned,  tried, 
convicted,  and  ordered  to  go  and  never  return.  They 
were  not  only  ordered  away,  but  were  placed  on  ship 
board  and  if  not  able  to  pay,  their  fares  were  paid  for 
them.  All  went;  a  few  returned  years  afterwards  to 
swagger  about  the  city  for  a  time,  but  nobody  regarded 
them.  Mulligan  remained  in  New  York  for  some  years 
where  he  occasionally  sought  satisfaction  by  bringing 
suits  for  damages  against  such  members  of  the  com- 
mittee as  fell  in  his  way  while  on  a  visit  to  that  city, 
and  so  causing  them  annoyance,  though  not  increasing 
his  own  wealth. 

This  work  proceeded  so  rapidly  and  so  smoothly  that 
early  in  June  members  of  the  executive  committee 
began  to  regard  it  as  about  finished — had  in  fact 
resolved  to  celebrate  its  completion  with  a  grand  parade 
on  July  4th — when  new  complications  arose.  The 
governor,  on  returning  to  Sacramento,  had  fallen  under 
the  influence  of  new  advisers  who  had  persuaded  him 
to  adopt  an  aggressive  policy.  On  June  2d  he  had 
ordered  General  Sherman  to  call  upon  the  militia  com- 
panies and  independent  military  organizations,  to 
report  to  and  act  with  him  in  enforcing  the  law.  On 
the  following  day  he  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  the 
county  of  San  Francisco  to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection, 
and  ordering  all  volunteer  militia  companies,  and  all 
persons  subject  to  military  duty  in  them,  to  report  to 
General  Sherman.  He  further  ordered  all  militia 
organizations  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  divisions — 
which  were  outside  the  city — and  all  persons  subject  to 
military  duty  in  such  divisions,  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  respond  to  and  obey  his  orders.     In  addi- 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       101 

tion  he  ordered  the  vigilantes  to  disperse  and  yield 
obedience  to  the  laws,  the  processes  of  the  courts,  and 
all  legal  officers  of  the  state  and  county. 

This  had  a  resolute  and  warlike  sound,  and  many 
people  feared  that  a  collision  might  follow.  Sherman 
issued  his  call  as  directed,  and  then  went  to  Benicia 
to  meet  the  governor,  and  confer  with  General  Wool 
and  Captain  Farragut,  who  were  in  command  at  the 
arsenal  and  navy  yard  respectively,  in  regard  to  pro- 
curing arms.  The  state  had  no  arms  in  San  Francisco 
except  the  few  the  sheriff  had  seized,  which  were  wholly 
insufficient,  and  it  would  be  useless  to  enroll  men  to 
enforce  the  law  unless  they  could  be  armed.  The 
governor  asked  for  a  loan  of  arms,  if  they  could  be 
furnished,  and  if  not  that  such  arms  as  the  state  would 
be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  national  government 
might  be  turned  over  in  advance.  Wool  thought  he 
had  no  authority  to  loan  arms  and  Farragut  knew 
he  had  none.  Wool,  after  some  persuasion,  was  dis- 
posed to  yield,  and  as  the  governor  and  general  both 
believed,  gave  some  sort  of  promise  to  comply  with 
their  demands.  The  governor  then  returned  to 
Sacramento  and  the  general  to  San  Francisco. 

In  a  second  letter  to  his  father-in-law  dated  June 
i6th,*  Sherman  says  that  on  his  return  he  found  that 
"men  were  enrolling  on  our  side  pretty  fast."  He 
thought  the  vigilantes  were  becoming  alarmed.  The 
people  were  beginning  to  be  restless  and  feared  civil  war. 
Public  sentiment  was  still  strongly  with  the  vigilantes, 
and  "the  law  and  order  party,  as  we  are  styled,  is  in 
public    estimation,    synonymous    with    the    rowdies, 

*Century  Magazine  for  December,  1891,  p.  302. 


102  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

shoulder  hitters  and  ballot  box  stuflfers."  Nevertheless 
there  were  some  estimable  men  in  it.  Most  of  the 
lawyers  and  some  of  the  judges,  even  those  of  the  high- 
est standing,  with  whose  records  nobody  was  finding 
fault,  were  on  that  side.  It  was  quite  natural  they 
should  be,  for  lawyers  and  judges  alike  were  officers  of 
the  courts,  and  the  courts  were  a  principal  object  of  cen- 
sure by  the  vigilantes.  There  were  also  other  estimable 
men  on  that  side,  merchants  and  professional  men, 
some  of  whom  had  been  members  of  the  committee  of 
1 85 1,  though  their  number  was  not  large  compared  with 
those  they  were  opposing. 

Though  forcible  opposition  did  not  yet  seem  to  be 
imminent,  the  executive  committee  of  the  vigilantes 
directed  its  military  officers  to  make  any  preparations 
for  defense  that  they  might  think  necessary.  Across 
Sacramento  street  and  opposite  the  building  which 
had  become  their  permanent  headquarters,  there  was 
a  vacant  lot  running  through  to  Commercial  street. 
This  might  expose  it  to  an  attack  by  artillery  from  that 
direction.  A  breastwork  of  gunnybags  filled  with  sand 
was  accordingly  erected  in  the  street  in  front  of  the 
building.  It  was  about  nine  or  ten  feet  high  and 
extended  across  the  whole  front  and  across  the  side- 
walk at  both  ends.  Behind  it  five  cannon  were  planted, 
while  two  others  were  mounted  on  the  roof,  and  four 
brass  six  pounders  were  kept  inside  the  building,  or  in 
the  alley  opening  from  the  rear  to  Davis  street.  People 
now  began  to  call  the  place  "Fort  Gunnybags."  In 
the  rear  there  was  also  a  stable  where  twenty  or  thirty 
horses  were  waiting  under  saddle  or  harness  ready  for 
instant    action.     The    old    bell    of    the    Monumental 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       103 

Engine  Company,  which  had  occasionally  served  the 
committee  of  185 1,  was  procured  and  mounted  on  a 
framework  on  the  roof,  where  as  formerly  it  would 
summon  all  members  to  headquarters  if  there  was  need. 

As  the  enrollment  of  the  law  and  order  party 
progressed  a  few  citizens,  some  of  whom  possibly  sym- 
pathized with  it,  and  some  members  with  the  vigilantes, 
undertook  to  open  the  way  for  negotiations,  so  as  to 
avoid  a  clash.  These  were  F.  W.  Macondray,  James 
D.  Thornton,  James  Donohue,  Bailie  Peyton,  Joseph 
B.  Crockett,  Martin  R.  Roberts,  John  Sime,  Henry  S. 
Foote,  and  John  J.  Williams.  They  called  at  Fort 
Gunnybags  and  had  a  conference  with  the  committee, 
after  which  it  announced  that  it  would  not  thereafter 
forcibly  resist  service  of  any  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
A  second  visit  was  made  a  few  days  later  as  the  com- 
mittee was  about  to  leave  for  Benicia  to  confer  with 
the  governor,  when  it  was  authorized  to  say  to  his 
excellency  that  if  his  proclamation  was  withdrawn  the 
vigilantes  would  make  no  further  parade  of  their  forces 
in  the  streets,  and  would  not  forcibly  resist  orders  of 
the  courts.  If,  however,  the  proclamation  was  not 
withdrawn  they  promised  nothing. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  June  7th  the  peace  committee 
went  to  Benicia  to  confer  with  the  governor,  having 
apparently  learned  that  he  was  to  be  there.  By  the 
same  boat  went  General  Sherman,  whom  the  governor 
had  summoned  to  meet  him  for  a  further  conference 
with  Wool,  who  by  this  time  had  definitely  refused  to 
furnish  the  arms  asked  for.  They  found  the  governor 
accompanied  by  David  S.  Terry,  a  justice  of  the 
supreme  court,  Volney  E.  Howard,  Edward  Jones  of 


104  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Palmer,  Cook,  &  Company,  and  Edward  D.  Baker,  all 
"men  of  violent  feelings"  according  to  Sherman's  view, 
and  "who  were  determined  to  bring  about  a  collision  of 
arms  if  possible."  They  were  apparently  the  advisers 
who  had  urged  the  governor  to  adopt  the  policy  he  was 
then  pursuing.  The  governor's  humor  was  notably 
changed.  He  reproached  Sherman  for  having  come  to 
Benicia  with  "a  committee  of  vigilantes,"  and  was  not 
easily  convinced  that  Crockett,  Thornton,  and  others 
who  had  come  with  them  were  citizens  of  moderation, 
who  wished  to  see  the  rule  of  law  restored  and  were 
doing  what  they  could  to  restore  it.  They  represented 
those  from  whom  the  governor  must  look  for  help  if  he 
was  to  find  any.  Sherman  appears  to  have  believed 
that  with  their  help  matters  might  have  been  brought 
to  a  satisfactory  conclusion,  had  not  Terry,  Howard, 
and  others  prevented. 

The  governor  received  these  gentlemen  very  coldly. 
When  they  called  at  his  hotel  he  sent  word  that  they 
should  state  the  nature  of  their  business  in  writing. 
While  they  were  preparing  their  statement  Sherman 
came  in  and  went  direct  to  the  governor's  room,  where 
he  found  him  surrounded  by  his  new  advisers.  Some 
of  them  were  "violently  denouncing  Wool  as  a  liar," 
the  vigilantes  as  "a  set  of  pork  merchants,"  and  the 
gentlemen  who  were  waiting  outside  as  no  better  than 
the  vigilantes.  Sherman  reminded  them  that  there 
were  comparatively  few  people  in  San  Francisco 
who  were  willing  to  oppose  the  vigilantes;  that  they 
were  without  arms,  and  that  arms  could  be  procured 
only  by  Wool's  order.  Under  the  circumstances  he 
thought  a  policy  of  prudence  and  moderation  should 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       105 

be  pursued.  Finally  Crockett  and  his  party  were 
admitted  and  allowed  to  make  their  statement,  but 
were  not  listened  to  over  civilly,  according  to  Sherman's 
way  of  thinking.  After  they  had  made  their  represen- 
tations and  withdrawn,  Terry  and  Howard  were  more 
violently  in  favor  of  an  aggressive  policy  than  ever. 
The  vigilantes  were  "caving  in,"  they  said,  and  the 
governor  must  follow  them  up  promptly  and  force  them 
to  disband. 

The  governor,  with  the  help  of  Terry  and  others  now 
prepared  a  written  reply  to  Crockett  and  his  party,  in 
which,  while  expressing  the  hope  that  the  unhappy 
difficulties  in  San  Francisco  might  be  terminated  with- 
out bloodshed,  he  declared  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
enforce  the  laws,  and  that  duty  he  would  perform.  If 
unhappily  a  collision  should  occur  and  injury  to  prop- 
erty and  life  follow,  the  responsibility  must  rest  on 
those  who  disregarded  the  authority  of  the  state. 

Not  caring  to  oppose  his  own  opinion  to  the  warlike 
views  of  those  whose  counsel  was  so  much  more  readily 
accepted,  and  convinced  as  he  was  that  he  could  neither 
raise  a  force  large  enough  to  cope  with  the  vigilantes, 
nor  get  arms  for  it  if  he  could  raise  it,  Sherman  now 
tendered  his  resignation  and  it  was  accepted.  Howard, 
one  of  the  Terry  party,  was  at  once  named  to  succeed 
him.  Hov/ard,  like  Terry  was  a  Texan,  and  quite  as 
much  in  favor  of  warlike  measures  as  those  who  were 
at  the  moment  with  him.  He  knew  but  little,  however, 
of  the  situation  in  San  Francisco,  and  as  will  be  seen, 
found  it  much  easier  to  threaten  violent  measures  than 
put  them  into  successful  operation. 


106  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

On  his  return  to  San  Francisco  Sherman  pubHshed  a 
statement,  giving  the  reasons  for  his  resignation.  He 
also  wrote  to  Ewing  that  "now  even  such  men  as  Gov- 
ernor Foote,  Bailie  Peyton,  Mr.  Dunn,  etc.,  approve 
all  that  they — the  vigilantes — have  done  and  all  that 
they  intend  to  do."  The  vigilantes  "have  organized 
a  power  irresistible  by  any  force  at  the  governor's  call, 
and  have  wielded  that  power  without  violence.* 

The  vigilantes  were  not  in  any  way  alarmed  by 
the  governor's  warlike  declarations.  On  learning  of  the 
failure  of  the  efforts  of  the  volunteer  mediators  they 
strengthened  their  defenses,  replenished  their  supplies 
of  arms  and  ammunition,  rescinded  the  conciliatory 
resolutions  they  had  adopted,  and  published  an  address 
more  fully  setting  forth  the  objects  they  intended  to 
accomplish.  These  were  mainl)^  to  put  an  end  to  cor- 
rupt methods  in  the  election  of  public  officials,  to  drive 
all  ballot  box  stuffers,  cutthroats,  and  blacklegs  of  every 
sort  out  of  the  city,  and  to  put  an  end  to  murderous 
assaults  upon  peaceable  citizens. 

The  committee  which  had  visited  Governor  Johnson 
at  Benicia  called  a  meeting  for  June  14th  to  be  held  in 
front  of  the  Oriental  hotel  to  report  the  result  of  their 
efforts  at  conciliation,  and  declare  their  conviction  that 
now  that  the  governor  was  bent  upon  a  resort  to  forcible 
measures  nothing  remained  for  loyal  citizens  of  San 
Francisco  to  do  but  sustain  the  committee  as  unani- 
mously as  possible,  and  by  the  most  effective  means. 
This  was  the  meeting  at  which  the  famous  ballot  box 
was  shown,  as  already  described.  Business  was  in  a 
large  degree  suspended  for  the  day  and  immense  throngs 

*Letter  to  Ewing  above  quoted. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       107 

of  people  attended.  The  resolutions  adopted  first  ex- 
pressed confidence  in  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States  and  the  State  of  California  to  maintain 
tranquillity  and  prosperity.  This  was  to  set  at  rest  an 
idle  report,  similar  to  one  that  had  some  years  earlier 
and  that  would  again  trouble  the  minds  of  Californians 
and  others,  that  a  Pacific  republic,  wholly  separate  and 
apart  from  the  United  States,  was  in  the  opinion  of 
many,  of  all  things  most  desirable;  and  that  a  movement 
to  set  it  on  foot  had  been  or  would  soon  be  started. 
They  also  expressed  confidence  in  the  people  and  the 
vigilance  committee,  the  people's  organization;  declared 
that  the  governor  had  been  misinformed  as  to  the 
necessity  which  had  forced  it  into  existence;  requested 
him  to  withdraw  his  proclamation,  and  asserted  that 
while  believing  there  was  little  cause  for  alarm,  yet  if 
disappointed  in  their  hope  for  an  early  termination  of 
present  troubles  without  resort  to  forcible  measures, 
they  would  organize  and  maintain  the  right.  A  sepa- 
rate resolution  was  also  proposed  and  adopted,  provid- 
ing that  a  fund  should  be  raised  by  general  subscription 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  special  committee,  subject 
to  the  orders  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  vigi- 
lantes, to  be  used  as  needed  for  defense  or  to  earn.- 
on  its  work,  and  any  unexpended  balance  remaining 
when  its  work  should  be  completed,  should  be  divided 
among  the  orphan  asylums  of  the  city. 

Meantime  the  committee  went  on  with  its  work  of 
driving  objectionable  characters  from  the  city.  None 
were  ordered  away  until  they  had  been  tried  and  con- 
victed of  some  specific  offense  or  offenses.  Some  who 
were  for  a  time  under  suspicion,  and  some  who  were 


108  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

apprehended  and  put  upon  trial,  were  found  to  have 
been  unjustly  accused  or  sufficient  proof  of  guilt  was  not 
found  to  convict,  and  they  were  not  further  molested. 
Some  fled  voluntarily;  some  who  were  convicted  asked 
for  time  to  arrange  their  affairs  before  departure,  and 
it  was  usually  granted.  Some  who  were  convicted 
resisted  deportation  but  were  taken  on  board  some 
outgoing  vessel  and  forced  to  go. 

Many  undertakings  were  suggested  to  the  committee 
as  worthy  of  its  attention  that  it  declined  to  consider. 
It  could  not  accomplish  all  the  reforms  that  everybody 
suggested,  nor  all  that  some  of  its  own  members  thought 
desirable.  It  did,  however,  call  upon  certain  city  and 
county  officials  to  resign,  and  sent  a  special  committee 
of  its  members  to  present  the  demand,  but  as  they  were 
not  able  to  enforce  it  none  of  the  officials  complied. 

The  governor  and  his  partisans  meantime  proceeded 
with  preparations  to  put  the  committee  down  by  force. 
Howard,  the  new  major  general,  found  some  of  the 
military  companies  in  the  city,  or  some  members  of 
them,  ready  to  act  under  his  orders.  Among  these 
were  the  San  Francisco  Blues,  the  Marion  Rifles,  the 
Sarsfield  Guards,  the  Continental  and  National  Lancers. 
All  these  were  armed.  Application  to  General  Wool 
was  renewed  for  the  arms  he  felt  authorized  to  furnish 
the  state,  and  though  still  refusing  a  loan,  six  boxes  of 
muskets  were  delivered  to  James  R.  Maloney  and  John 
G.  Phillips  on  June  19th  to  be  sent  to  San  Francisco 
by  the  schooner  Julia.  Learning  of  this  the  executive 
committee  sent  John  L.  Durkee  and  Charles  E.  Rand 
with  eight  or  ten  men  on  another  vessel  to  capture  them. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       109 

which  they  did  near  Point  San  Pablo,  bringing  them  to 
the  city,  where  Maloney  and  PhilHps  were  released 
and  the  muskets  taken  to  vigilante  headquarters. 

But  the  committee  did  not  approve  of  the  release  of 
Maloney  and  Phillips  and  sent  one  of  its  special  police- 
men named  Hopkins  to  arrest  them.  Hopkins  was  not 
a  tactful  official.  On  the  contrary  he  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  those  men  who  are  as  dangerous  to  their 
friends  as  enemies,  when  armed  with  a  little  brief 
authority.  He  found  Maloney  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Richard  P.  Ashe,  United  States  Naval  agent,  and  cap- 
tain of  a  company  in  the  governor's  law  and  order  party, 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  his  adherents,  among  whom 
was  Justice  Terry,  who  by  virtue  of  his  office  forbade 
the  arrest.  Lacking  force  enough  to  take  Maloney 
from  the  party  which  surrounded  him,  Hopkins  retired, 
but  later  returned  with  reinforcements  and  overtook 
Maloney  and  his  party  on  the  way  from  Ashe's  office  to 
the  armory  of  the  San  Francisco  Blues  at  Dupont  and 
Jackson  streets.  All  are  said  to  have  been  armed  with 
revolvers,  but  Judge  Terry  in  addition  had  a  knife,  and 
when  Hopkins  attempted  to  take  Maloney,  stabbed  him 
in  the  neck  inflicting  a  deep  wound,  which  at  the  time 
was  supposed  to  be  dangerous  and  likely  to  prove  fatal. 

The  wounded  man  was  carried  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Engine  House  near  by,  while  Terry  and  party  hurried 
to  the  armory.  Report  of  what  had  happened  spread 
rapidly,  and  the  streets  soon  filled  with  people  as  much 
excited  as  they  had  been  when  King  was  shot.  It  was 
supposed  that  Hopkins  would  die.  His  wound  was 
said  to  be  four  inches  deep,  and  being  so  near  a  vital 
part  most  people  assumed  that  it  must  be  fatal.     As  it 


110  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

had  been  inflicted  by  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
everybody  waited  with  keenest  possible  interest  to 
know  what  the  committee  would  do.  Would  they  dare 
to  arrest  so  high  a  judicial  officer  of  the  state?  If 
Hopkins  should  die  would  they  dare  to  try  him  for 
murder  as  they  had  tried  Casey  and  Cora;  and  if  guilty, 
would  they  dare  to  hang  him?  Questions  of  such 
burning  interest  do  not  often  engage  public  attention. 

Those  who  asked  them  did  not  have  long  to  wait. 
As  soon  as  news  of  what  had  happened  reached  the 
vigilance  headquarters,  the  committee  ordered  Terry's 
immediate  arrest,  and  the  alarm  bell  was  sounded.  In 
response  the  members  hurried  together  from  all  parts 
of  the  city,  took  their  arms  and  formed  in  military  order. 
Within  half  an  hour  after  the  bell  sounded — which  was 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon — a  strong  force, 
headed  by  Marshal  Doane  and  accompanied  by  a  war 
committee  similar  to  that  which  had  directed  operations 
when  Casey  and  Cora  were  taken  from  the  jail,  was  on 
its  way  to  the  armory  in  which  Terry  and  party  had 
taken  refuge.  As  they  marched  their  ranks  were 
swelled  by  members  who  had  not  been  able  to  reach 
headquarters  before  their  march  began;  among  others 
a  number  of  draymen  whose  wagons  were  loading  or 
unloading  in  the  streets  through  which  the  marchers 
passed,  slipped  off  the  harness  from  their  horses  which 
they  mounted  and  joined  them. 

Within  an  hour  after  Hopkins  was  stabbed  all  the 
armories  of  the  law  and  order  companies,  as  well  as 
every  place  in  the  city  supposed  to  contain  arms  likely 
to  be  at  their  disposal,  was  surrounded  and  the  arms 
seized. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       111 

No  resistance  was  anywhere  offered;  it  would  in  fact 
have  been  useless.  At  the  armory  where  Terry  and 
Maloney  were,  a  demand  was  made  for  their  surrender 
and  it  was  complied  with,  upon  promise  that  no  violence 
should  be  offered  them.  Ashe  and  some  others  were 
also  taken  into  custody  and  all  arms  in  the  building 
surrendered. 

In  less  than  half  an  afternoon  the  vigilantes  had 
relieved  themselves  of  all  need  for  anxiety  because  of 
an  opposing  force;  the  governor  had  been  deprived 
of  all  means  to  assert  his  authority,  and  all  because  of 
the  rash  and  ill-considered  or  unconsidered  act  of  one 
of  his  advisers,  who  had  been  urging  him  on  to  attempt 
what  it  would  have  been  better  not  to  do  even  if  he 
had  ample  power  to  do  it.  The  committee  was  pre- 
paring to  bring  its  work  to  an  end — was  satisfied  with 
what  it  had  done  and  had  fixed  a  day  for  disbanding. 
But  now  it  had  a  new  responsibility  thrust  upon  it,  and 
a  graver  one  than  any  it  had  previously  coped  with. 
Among  the  prisoners  in  its  cells  it  now  had  a  justice 
of  the  supreme  court,  who  had  stabbed  a  man.  This 
man  it  was  true  had  been  engaged  in  an  act  not  recog- 
nized by  the  law,  but  he  had  not  in  any  way  threatened 
the  safety  of  his  assailant.  He  was  still  alive,  but  if 
he  should  die,  would  his  slayer  be  guilty  of  murder  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law?  If  he  was,  would  the  committee 
be  justified  in  dealing  with  him  as  a  common  murderer? 
Would  they  dare  do  it? 

What  they  would  have  done  can  now  only  be  surmised 
but  there  seems  to  be  little  reason  to  doubt  that  they 
would  have  faced  their  new  responsibility  as  calmly 
and  as  resolutely  as  they  faced  every  other.     If  there 


112  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

is  reason  for  doubt,  it  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
preparations  were  made  to  bring  him  to  trial  at  once, 
while  his  victim  was  still  living,  and  on  a  series  of 
charges  among  which  murder  was  not  included.  In 
fact  murder  could  not  be  charged  while  Hopkins  lived; 
but  if  he  died  it  could  not  be  avoided.  At  this  distance 
of  time  it  seems  probable  that  some  members  of  the 
committee  hoped  they  might  avoid  the  more  serious 
responsibility  by  forcing  Terry  to  resign  and  leave  the 
state,  with  a  promise  never  to  return.  Coleman  says* 
the  trial  was  "delayed  by  efforts  of  Terry's  friends  to 
make  a  compromise";  and  three  days  after  his  arrest, 
on  June  24th,  Terry  himself  wrote  to  the  committee 
asking  for  two  weeks'  time  to  arrange  his  business 
affairs  for  the  benefit  of  his  family,  and  adding:  "I 
further  agree  that  if  death  should  ensue  from  the  wound 
inflicted  by  me,  I  will  at  once  resign  my  position,  will 
make  all  necessary  arrangements,  and  if  acquitted 
will  at  once  leave  the  state  should  you  require  it.  "f 
That  there  were  members  of  the  committee  who  shrank 
from  the  responsibility  of  hanging  so  prominent  an 
official  as  Terry  was,  is  indicated  by  this  fact,  that  it 
was  at  first  voted  that  two-thirds  of  the  committee  must 
agree  before  the  penalty  of  death  could  be  inflicted,  and 
later  this  was  reduced  to  three-fifths. 

Terry  was  treated  with  more  consideration  than  any 
other  prisoner.  He  was  placed  in  a  large  cell,  his  wife 
and  some  friends,  among  them  A.  P.  Crittenden,  James 
D.  Thornton,  Calhoun  Benham  and  others  were  admitted 
to  see  him,  though  always  in  the  presence  of  his  guards. 

*  Century  Magazine  for  November,  1891. 

tLetter  given  in  full  by  Bancroft,  Popular  Tribunals,  Vol.  II,  p.  40$. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       113 

The  large  number  of  prisoners  taken  when  the 
armories  of  the  opposition  were  raided  and  the  arms 
captured,  were  set  at  Hberty  as  soon  as  possible.  Naval 
Officer  Ashe,  who  had  been  with  Terry  at  the  time  of 
his  arrest,  asked  to  be  released  on  parole,  in  order 
that  his  official  business  might  not  suffer,  and  promised 
as  a  man  of  honor,  if  his  request  was  granted,  to  remain 
"neutral  in  word  and  action."  As  the  committee 
wished  to  avoid  all  possible  complications,  through 
interfering  with  federal  officials  in  the  performance  of 
their  duties,  his  request  was  granted. 

Howard,  the  new  major  general  of  militia  who  had 
succeeded  Sherman,  being  now  deprived  of  anything 
to  command,  blustered  about  the  city  for  a  time, 
talking  about  "laying  it  in  ashes"  and  then  retired  to 
Sacramento  to  make  a  voluble  report,  in  which  he 
declared  that  "the  circumstances  connected  with  this 
movement  are  such  as  to  leave  no  doubt  on  my  mind 
that  the  insurgents  aim  at  nothing  less  than  the  entire 
overthrow  of  the  state  government  and  secession  from 
the  federal  union."  A  week  after  his  arrest,  on  June 
28th,  Terry  wrote  to  Captain  E.  B.  Boutwell,  com- 
manding the  sloop  of  war  John  Adams  then  lying  in 
the  harbor,  and  after  reciting  hie  arrest,  the  indignities 
offered  and  the  dangers  threatening  him,  declared  that 
some  members  of  the  committee  "now  openly  threaten 
to  seize  the  forts  and  arsenals  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  the  ships  of  war  in  port,  and  secede  from  the 
federal  union." 

That  Howard  at  Sacramento,  and  Terry  at  San 
Francisco  should  be  thus  disturbed  for  the  safety  of 
the  Union,  its  forts  and  arsenals,  suggests  that  the  idea 


114  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

had  been  in  their  minds  for  some  time,  and  possibly 
they  had  been  urging  it  upon  Wool  and  Farragut  at 
Benicia  in  their  efforts  to  persuade  them  to  furnish  the 
arms  the  governor  needed.  Nothing  can  be  more  cer- 
tain than  that  it  was  an  invention  of  their  own.  The 
committee  had  previously  expressly  declared,  not  only 
what  it  intended  to  do,  but  that  it  did  not  intend  to 
interfere  with  the  general  business  of  government, 
either  city,  county,  or  national. 

It  had  first  been  arranged  to  begin  the  trial  of  Terry 
on  the  day  after  his  arrest,  but  it  was  delayed  for 
various  reasons.  Miers  F.  Truett  had  been  assigned 
to  defend,  and  T.  J.  L.  Smiley  to  prosecute,  and  it 
was  at  Truett's  request  that  the  first  postponement  was 
made,  in  consideration  of  the  petition  submitted  by 
Terry's  friends  for  a  compromise,  by  which  he  was  to 
resign  and  leave  the  state.  Consideration  of  this  prop- 
osition required  time.  Then  it  was  suggested  that  a 
rescue  was  to  be  attempted  and  further  delay  was 
caused  by  preparations  to  resist  it.  Attempts  to  secure 
Maloney's  release  by  habeas  corpus  were  made. 
Durkee  and  others  who  had  assisted  in  the  capture  of 
the  arms  sent  by  the  Julia  from  Benicia,  were  indicted 
in  the  United  States  district  court  on  a  charge  of  piracy 
and  their  defense  required  attention.  Meantime 
Captain  Boutwell  in  command  of  the  John  Adams,  had 
shown  a  nervous  interest  in  what  had  been  going  on  on 
shore.  He  had  on  June  2ist  written  to  inquire  about 
the  arrest  of  Naval  Officer  Ashe,  and  as  to  how  long  he 
was  likely  to  be  detained,  as  it  might  embarrass  him  in 
getting  to  sea  as  soon  as  he  wished. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       115 

Immediately  after  receiving  Judge  Terry's  letter  of 
the  28th  in  which  he  invoked  "the  protection  of  the 
flag  of  his  country,"  Boutwell  wrote  the  committee  that: 
"You  are  either  in  open  rebellion  against  the  laws  of 
your  country  and  in  a  state  of  war,  or  you  are  an  asso- 
ciation of  American  citizens  combined  together  for  the 
purpose  of  redressing  evils,  real  or  imaginary,  under  a 
suspension  of  the  laws  of  California."  If  they  regarded 
themselves  as  occupying  the  first  position,  he,  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  asked  them  to  deal  with 
Judge  Terry  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  place  him  on  board 
his  ship ;  if  in  the  second  position,  he  thought  they  would, 
upon  reflection,  surrender  him  to  the  lawful  authority 
of  the  state.  He  called  upon  them  to  "pause  and 
reflect  before  you  condemn  to  death,  in  secret,  an 
American  citizen  who  is  entitled  to  a  public  and  impar- 
tial trial  by  a  judge  and  jury  recognized  by  the  laws  of 
this  country."* 

Governor  Johnson  had  also  appealed  to  Boutwell 
notifying  him  that  Terry  had  been  seized  while 
"engaged  in  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  a  peace 
officer  of  the  state";  declaring  his  own  inability  to 
protect  him  "without  resort  to  means,  which  would, 
in  all  probability  involve  the  state  in  civil  war,"  and 
asking  Boutwell  to  protect  him  with  all  the  means  at 
his  command.  To  this  Boutwell  replied  that  the 
unanimity  with  which  the  people  of  San  Francisco 
deprecated  any  interference  with  their  affairs  by  the 
federal  government  was  such  that  any  eifort  on  his 
part  was  likely  to  do  much  injury,  endanger  the  life  of 
Judge  Terry,  and  delay  the  settlement  of  the  unhappy 

•Commanders'  Letters  No.  II,  dated  June  28,  1856,  Navy  Department  files. 


116  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

controversy.  A  civil  war,  the  greatest  of  horrors 
ought  to  be  avoided  if  possible.  He  could  destroy 
the  city  with  the  guns  of  his  ship,  but  in  the  ruin 
friends  as  well  as  foes  would  suffer.  If  he  could  per- 
suade the  committee  to  set  Judge  Terry  at  liberty  he 
should  be  most  happy  to  do  so;  but  if  he  demanded  his 
release  and  they  failed  to  give  him  up,  he  must  either 
batter  the  town  down  or  render  himself  ridiculous.  If 
Hopkins  should  die,  and  Terry  be  condemned  to  death 
he  would  make  an  effort  to  save  his  life  in  such  a 
manner  as  not  to  be  offensive  to  his  fellow  citizens. 

Instead  of  answering  Boutwell's  letter  of  the  28th, 
further  than  to  say  that  it  would  "receive  our  consider- 
ation," the  committee  sent  it  to  Farragut  at  Mare 
Island.  Boutwell's  ship  at  the  time  belonged  to 
another  command,  but  Farragut  wrote  him  on  July  ist 
cautioning  him  that  the  federal  government  had  been 
very  careful  not  to  interfere  with  domestic  troubles  in 
the  states,  when  no  collision  was  made  with  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  adding:  "  I  feel  no  disposition 
to  interfere  with  your  command,  but  so  long  as  you  are 
within  the  waters  of  my  command,  it  becomes  my  duty 
to  restrain  you  from  doing  anything  to  augment  the 
great  excitement  in  this  distracted  community,  until 
we  receive  instructions  from  the  government." 

Further  correspondence  between  Farragut  and 
Boutwell  followed,  in  which  the  senior  officer  pointed 
out  to  the  junior  that  in  his  letter  to  the  vigilance 
committee  he  had  referred  to  the  action  of  Captain 
Ingraham  in  the  case  of  one  Koszta,  who  was  not  then 
an  American  citizen,  as  a  precedent  to  guide  him  in 
the  present  case,  and  added:   "How  much  more  neces- 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       117 

sary  Is  it  for  me  to  use  all  the  power  at  my  command* 
to  save  the  life  of  a  native  born  citizen."  This  very 
plainly  indicated,  as  Farragut  thought,  and  as  the  com- 
mittee had  thought,  that  he — Boutwell — "would  use 
all  the  power  at  his  command  in  case  his  demands  were 
not  complied  with,  and  the  committee  had  appealed  to 
him  to  intervene  for  humanity's  sake.  He  was  aware 
that  "you  are  besought  by  the  government  party  to 
blow  the  town  down,"  but  that  fact  only  urged  "that 
we  should  act  in  our  public  capacity  with  unbiased 
judgment." 

While  this  correspondence  was  going  on,  and  for  some 
days  afterward,  the  fate  of  Hopkins  was  the  subject 
of  most  intense  interest  and  speculation.  While  he  was 
not  a  person  of  much  consequence,  the  fact  that  Judge 
Terry's  fate  probably  depended  upon  his,  made  him  an 
object  of  keenest  solicitude  both  to  the  vigilantes  and 
their  opponents.  Soon  after  he  was  stabbed,  a  room  in 
the  engine  house  was  specially  furnished  for  him,  not 
only  comfortably  but  luxuriously.  He  was  attended 
by  Dr.  R.  Beverly  Cole,  chief  surgeon  for  the  vigilantes, 
and  a  member  of  the  executive  committee,  and  by  his 
wife  and  mother  as  nurses.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  see  that  nothing  that  could  be  done  to  save  his  life 
was  left  undone.  The  whole  engine  house  was  given 
up  to  him,  the  street  in  front  of  it  deadened  so  that  he 
might  not  be  disturbed  by  the  sound  of  passing  vehicles, 
and  guards  defended  it  against  all  intruders.     The  doc- 

*By  this  Boutwell  evidently  expected  the  committee  to  understand  that  he 
contemplated  opening  fire  on  the  city,  since  he  says  in  a  later  letter  to  the  secretary 
of  the  navy,  dated  July  3d:  "The  appeals  of  his  distressed  wife,  and  the  fact  that 
Judge  Terry  acted  in  self  defense,  would  have  almost  induced  me  to  batter  the 
town  down,  if  I  could  have  done  so  without  destroying  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  innocent  with  the  guilty." 


118  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

tors  were  in  doubt  for  some  days  about  his  chance  for 
recovery.  His  wound  had  bled  profusely  and  he  was 
much  weakened  by  loss  of  blood.  Bulletins  reporting 
his  condition  were  issued  frequently  and  were  watched 
for  with  equal  interest  by  friends  and  -enemies,  both  of 
whom  were  anxious  to  do  anything  in  their  power  to 
save  his  life. 

The  opponents  of  the  committee — known  as  the  law 
and  order  party — though  now  disarmed  and  powerless 
to  make  forcible  resistance,  were  active  in  every  way 
that  could  be  devised  to  save  Terry's  life  and  procure 
his  release.  There  were  among  them  the  ablest  judges 
and  best  lawyers  in  the  city,*  and  they  neglected  no 
resource  that  might  prove  effective.  They  applied  to 
Boutwell,  to  Farragut,  to  Wool,  to  the  governor,  and 
finally  to  the  national  authorities  in  Washington  to  do 
whatever  might  be  done;  but  the  national  authorities 
were  too  far  away  to  be  easily  consulted,  and  finally 
when  they  were  reached,  could  see  no  reason  for  inter- 
vention; the  governor  would  not  withdraw  his  procla- 
mation, and  nothing  else  that  he  could  do  could  have 
the  slightest  helpful  effect.  Propositions  in  various 
forms  were  made  to  the  committee,  but  helped  only  by 
delaying  matters. 

More  than  a  month  passed  before  Terry's  trial, 
frequently  interrupted  as  it  was,  could  be  concluded. 
All  the  witnesses  he  asked  for  were  summoned,  and 
some  were  brought  from  distant  parts  of  the  state  at 
the  committee's  expense.  His  counsel  was  allowed  the 
utmost  freedom   in   the   examination,    as   well   as   in 

*Mr.  Coleman  says:  "They  had  all  the  city  and  state  officers;  they  had  with 
them  the  law  and  most  of  the  lawyers,  and  all  the  law  breakers."  Century 
Magazine  above  quoted. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       119 

the  cross-examination  of  those  for  the  prosecution. 
The  prisoner  was  even  permitted  to  make  an  argument 
in  his  own  defense,  and  he  had  coached  his  counsel  at 
every  step  during  the  trial.  He  had  in  fact  been  denied 
nothing  that  he  would  have  been  allowed  in  a  court 
trial,  except  that  purely  technical  matters  were  not 
considered. 

All  or  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  executive 
committee  had  sat  as  jurors  in  the  trial,  though  some 
had  not  heard  all  the  evidence  and  were  therefore 
excused  from  voting  on  the  verdict.  The  others  were 
so  divided  in  opinion  that  it  was  not  easy  to  reach  a 
conclusion  to  which  three-fifths  of  their  number  would 
assent.  Hopkins  had  now  so  far  recovered  that  there  was 
no  longer  any  fear  that  he  would  die.  The  prisoner 
was  therefore  not  guilty  of  murder,  although  some 
members  of  the  committee  and  a  much  larger  number  of 
those  who  were  not  members,  evidently  thought  he 
ought  to  be  hanged.  But  he  had  not  been  charged 
with  murder  and  had  not  been  tried  for  that  crime. 
Indeed,  as  now  appears  certain,  the  conservative  leaders 
had  hastened  the  trial  on  the  lesser  charge  of  assault 
with  intent  to  kill,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  the  judge  to 
resign  and  leave  the  state;  for  if  that  could  be  brought 
about  they  would  have  escaped  the  responsibility  of 
having  to  fix  the  punishment  for  the  graver  offense  in 
case  Hopkins  had  died.  But  Hopkins  being  out  of 
danger  the  gravest  offense  of  which  the  prisoner  could 
be  guilty  was  assault  with  a  deadly  weapon,  with  intent 
to  commit  murder.  There  was  a  possibility  that  he  had 
acted  in  self-defense,  although  his  own  life  had  not  been 


120  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

in  any  imminent  danger;  for  the  stabbing  had  been  done 
in  a  struggle  for  a  gun  which  he  held,  and  which  Hopkins 
was  endeavoring  to  take  from  him. 

Then  the  question  as  to  the  punishment  the 
committee  might  inflict  for  an  offense  more  serious 
than  assault  and  less  serious  than  murder  was  no  doubt 
perplexing.  It  was  not  a  permanent  body — was  in 
fact  anxious  to  conclude  its  work;  it  could  not  enforce 
a  prison  sentence;  it  could  not  force  the  prisoner  to 
leave  the  country  against  his  will,  for  the  John  Adams 
was  lying  at  anchor  off  Sacramento  street  to  prevent 
that;  to  hang  a  man  for  attempting  to  kill  would  be 
preposterous — the  whole  world  would  condemn  the  act. 

Nevertheless  those  who  favored  hanging  were  not 
lacking.  Five  of  the  six  charges  on  which  the  prisoner 
had  been  tried  were  disposed  of  without  great  difficulty 
— indeed  two  of  them  had  been  dropped.  The  attack 
upon  Hopkins  and  the  penalty  to  be  imposed  for  it 
were  troublesome,  and  after  considering  the  matter 
through  all  of  one  night,  part  of  the  day  and  most  of 
the  night  following,  it  was  agreed  to  find  the  prisoner 
guilty  of  assault  only;  "and  the  usual  punishment 
within  their  (the  committee's)  power  to  inflict  not  being 
applicable  in  the  present  instance,"  as  the  formal  find- 
ing ran,  the  prisoner  should  be  discharged  from  custody, 
though  the  committee  believed  the  interests  of  the 
state  imperatively  demanded  that  he  should  resign  his 
position  as  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

The  board  of  delegates  had  even  greater  diflEiculty 
with  this  verdict  than  the  committee  had.  This  board 
was  composed  of  nearly  one  hundred  members,  all  of 
whom  had  been  less  closely  confined  to  headquarters 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       121 

than  members  of  the  executive  committee  had;  and 
consequently  more  under  the  influence  of  popular  sen- 
timent with  regard  to  Terry's  case.  This  sentiment 
was  most  unfavorable  to  the  judge,  who,  while  very 
highly  regarded  by  a  large  circle  of  personal  friends 
and  acquaintances,  was  still  held  responsible  in  a  large 
degree  at  least,  by  most  people,  for  the  governor's 
opposition,  and  therefore  for  all  the  trouble  that  had 
ended  in  his  own  arrest  and  trial.  Many  were  very 
bitter,  and  urged  that  he  ought  to  be  hanged  whether 
Hopkins  died  or  lived.  Many  of  the  delegates  parti- 
cipated in  this  view,  and  were  particularly  opposed  to 
setting  him  at  liberty.  A  larger  number  insisted  that 
he  should  be  driven  from  the  state.  All  believed  he 
had  been  only  inadequately  punished  by  his  seven 
weeks'  imprisonment. 

The  delegates,  after  nearly  a  week  of  deliberation, 
resolved  that  Terry  should  be  "banished  from  the  state 
on  the  shortest  possible  notice,  under  the  usual  penalty" 
but  the  executive  committee  stood  by  their  own  verdict 
and  nothing  could  be  done  until  both  agreed.  Finally 
after  a  week  spent  in  conferring  and  debating  the  matter 
the  committee's  verdict  was  reluctantly  approved,  and 
at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  August  8th  the  eleven 
members  of  the  executive  committee  at  that  hour  on 
duty,  set  the  prisoner  at  liberty. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  judge  had  been 
released,  there  was  much  excitement  and  unfavorable 
comment.  The  committee  became  alarmed  for  his 
safety,  and  some  of  its  members  went  to  the  house  in 
Dupont  street  to  which  he  had  gone,  and  urged  him  to 
take  refuge  on  the  John  Adams.     Mr.  Truett,  who  had 


122  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

made  his  defense  before  the  committee,  was  one  of 
these,  and  accompanied  him  on  board.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  the  steamer  for  Sacramento  drew  alonsgide  and 
he  was  transferred  to  her  deck.  As  she  drew  away 
again  a  parting  gun  was  fired  by  the  Adams  and  her 
sailors  gave  a  cheer,  as  the  river  steamer  sailed  away. 

A  report  soon  spread  through  the  city  that  Boutwell 
had  fired  a  salute  at  parting  with  his  guest,  manned  the 
yards  of  his  ship  and  given  him  a  parting  cheer — a 
special  honor  awarded  only  to  people  of  high  distinction 
— and  the  report  excited  much  indignation.  Boutwell 
later  denied  that  he  had  shown  his  guest  any  special 
courtesy,  further  that  to  fire  a  single  gun  as  a  notice  to 
the  judge's  friends  in  the  city  that  he  had  left  his  ship. 
The  cheer,  he  said,  had  been  given  by  his  sailors  in 
response  to  one  given  by  the  crew  of  the  river  steamer, 
a  thing  not  at  all  unusual;  the  yards  of  his  vessel  had 
not  been  manned.* 

As  soon  as  the  executive  committee  had  agreed  upon 
its  verdict  in  Terry's  case,  and  while  the  delegates  were 
considering  it,  its  members  turned  to  the  trial  of  two 
murderers,  both  of  whom  were  convicted  and  hanged 
before  Terry  gained  his  liberty.  Philander  Brace  a 
hardened  and  notorious  ruffian  had  been  arrested  before 
Hopkins  was  stabbed.  He  had  just  served  a  short  term 
in  jail  for  burglary,  or  some  similar  offense,  but  was  now 
charged  with  the  murder  of  a  man  named  West,  who 
had  lived  in  the  county.  Before  his  trial  was  concluded 
another  murderer  named  Joseph  Hetherington  was 
brought  to  headquarters.  He  had  been  a  gambler  and 
had  accumulated  some  money,  part  of  which  he  had 

•Letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  dated  August  13,  1856. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       123 

loaned  to  Dr.  Randall,  who  had  not  been  able  to  repay 
it  when  due,  and  he  had  shot  him.  The  shooting  was 
done  in  the  office  of  the  St.  Nicholas  hotel  in  the 
presence  of  several  witnesses,  and  had  caused  intense 
excitement.  As  soon  as  the  murderer's  identity  was 
known  it  was  remembered  that  he  had  shot  another  man 
three  years  earlier,  in  a  dispute  over  a  piece  of  ground 
on  Greenwich  street.  He  had  been  tried  for  that  crime, 
but  he  had  been  acquitted  as  most  other  criminals  had 
been.  Now  everybody  looked  to  the  vigilantes  to 
punish  him  for  both  crimes. 

On  July  28th  the  trial  of  Brace  was  concluded  and  he 
was  sentenced  to  death.  Hetherington's  trial  imme- 
diately followed  and  resulted  in  a  similar  verdict  and 
sentence.  Both  findings  were  approved  by  the  board 
of  delegates,  and  both  murderers  were  hanged  at  the 
same  time,  on  a  gallows  erected  in  Davis  street.  The 
execution,  like  that  of  Cora  and  Casey  was  witnessed 
by  an  immense  crowd,  that  not  only  thronged  the 
streets  but  covered  the  roofs  of  buildings  in  all  directions 
for  many  squares. 

The  leading  vigilantes  now  felt  that  their  work  was 
done.  They  had  hanged  four  murderers,  and  driven 
twenty-three  ruffians  of  various  degrees  of  infamy  into 
exile;  one  had  committed  suicide,  and  several  had  volun- 
tarily fled  the  state,  or  gone  into  the  interior  where  they 
could  not  be  found.  McGowan  was  still  at  large.  He 
had  been  sharply  pursued  by  agents  of  the  committee 
for  more  than  two  months,  during  most  of  which  time 
he  had  stolen  from  one  hiding  place  in  the  woods  to 
another,  living  like  a  savage,  and  having  time  to  reflect 


124  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

on  the  worthlessness  of  his  miserable  Hfe.  Seven  or 
eight  thousand  men  of  affairs  could  no  longer  wait  for 
him,  and  there  was  indeed  not  much  reason  to  do  so. 

A  day  was  accordingly  fixed  for  ending  the  work  that 
had  been  undertaken.  Fort  Gunnybags  was  disman- 
tled, the  committee  rooms  thrown  open  for  inspection 
by  any  who  might  care  to  visit  them;  and  on  August 
1 8th  the  vigilantes  of  1856  paraded  for  the  last  time. 
The  city  had  been  gaily  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and 
the  display  excelled  anything  ever  before  seen  in  San 
Francisco.  There  were  four  companies  of  artillery, 
with  fifteen  guns  in  line,  the  executive  committee  on 
horseback,  followed  by  two  companies  of  dragoons  each 
preceded  by  a  band,  then  the  medical  staff  composed  of 
about  fifty  members,  and  members  of  the  committee 
of  1 85 1,  all  followed  by  four  regiments  of  infantry  com- 
prising about  eight  hundred  men  each.  A  float  with 
a  fairly  good  representation  of  Fort  Gunnybags  was  a 
striking  feature  of  the  display.  After  marching  through 
all  the  principal  streets  the  procession  disbanded  and  the 
military  organization  of  the  committee  ceased  to  exist. 

But  the  influence  of  the  organization  did  not  end 
there.  Individual  interest  in  the  general  public  busi- 
ness had  been  quickened  by  the  committee's  work,  and 
the  good  effect  of  it  was  felt  for  a  long  time  afterwards. 
More  care  was  taken  in  the  selection  of  candidates  for 
public  office;  even  the  lists  of  jurors,  when  drawn,  were 
carefully  scanned  and  objectionable  characters  excluded. 
Roughs  and  shoulder  hitters  no  longer  controlled  the 
polling  booths  on  election  days,  and  ballot  box  stuffing 
ceased  to  be  practised.  The  consolidation  of  the  city 
and  county  government  of  San  Francisco  under  one 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1856       125 

municipal  management  happily  vacated  all  the  offices 
that  year,  and  they  were  refilled  by  representative  men. 
For  a  long  time  afterwards  both  city  and  county  were 
better  governed  than  they  ever  had  been. 

The  work  of  the  vigilance  committee  has  been 
generally  approved  by  the  world  at  large  since  it  ceased 
to  be.  It  was  in  no  sense  a  mob.  There  was  nothing 
of  mob  methods  or  of  mob  spirit  in  what  it  did.  All 
it  did  was  done  without  passion,  deliberately  and  equi- 
tably if  not  lawfully.  Its  aim  was  to  make  law  opera- 
tive, not  to  subvert  it;  and  if  it  used  means  unknown  to 
the  law  in  doing  this,  it  was  because  the  ordinary  means 
had  been  rendered  inoperative  by  those  who  for  the  time 
controlled  them.  The  penalties  it  imposed  upon  crimi- 
nals were  those  that  the  law  prescribed,  where  it  had 
power  to  enforce  them;  and  where  it  lacked  power  the 
penalties  inflicted  were  less  severe  than  the  law  would 
have  inflicted  upon  offenders  of  the  same  class.  The 
law,  if  it  could  have  been  enforced  by  regular  means, 
would  have  imprisoned  ballot  box  stuffers  like  Sullivan 
and  bullies  like  Mulligan  and  Duane;  but  the  committee 
had  no  penitentiaries  and  no  power  to  send  offenders  to 
those  the  state  provided.  It  accordingly  sent  them  out 
of  the  country  and  did  well  in  doing  so. 

Of  Terry's  case  it  is  more  difficult  to  judge  with 
fairness.  In  1856  men  carried  weapons  far  more  gener- 
ally than  now;  and  personal  encounters  in  which  they 
were  used  were  not  uncommon.  Terry  belonged  to  a 
class  that  believed,  as  Andrew  Jackson  did,  that  per- 
sonal affronts  and  assaults  should  not  only  be  resented 
but  adjusted  by  the  parties  receiving  them.  Such  men 
thought  no  more  of  using  a  knife  or  pistol  in  a  personal 


126  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

encounter  than  men  now  think  of  using  their  fists.  As  a 
lawyer  Terry  knew  that  Hopkins  had  no  lawful  author- 
ity to  arrest  Maloney,  and  as  a  man  he  knew  that  he  was 
himself  in  no  small  degree  responsible  for  the  state  of 
things  that  had  placed  him  in  danger  of  arrest.  He 
naturally  felt  bound  to  defend  him,  and  in  doing  so 
placed  himself  in  line  of  attack. 

While  it  is  certain  that  no  violent  attack  upon  him 
was  intended,  we  cannot  be  certain  that  none  was  made. 
Hopkins  was  by  no  means  a  discreet  or  judicious  officer; 
and  the  committee,  or  at  least  its  more  conscientious 
members  evidently  felt  that  all  he  had  done  could 
neither  be  defended  nor  excused.  They  could  not 
blame  Terry  for  resisting,  though  willing  enough  to 
condemn  the  means  he  had  used.  For  his  offense 
the  only  penalty  they  could  inflict  was  their  censure, 
and  impartial  history  must  approve  their  verdict  and 
applaud  their  moderation. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BRODERICK 


POLITICAL  parties  took  no  official  notice  of 
the  vigilance  committee  or  its  work.  They 
could  not  approve,  for  one  of  them  had  been 
ousted  from  control  of  city  affairs  in  San 
Francisco  as  one  result  of  it,  and  the  other  had  not 
been  in  any  way  benefited.  There  were  politicians  who 
denounced  it  and  would  have  been  glad  to  have  their 
party  express  its  disapproval,  but  only  two  attempts 
were  made  to  secure  such  expression,  and  these  met 
overwhelming  opposition.  A  delegate  to  the  Know 
Nothing  convention  held  in  September,  sent  to  the 
secretary's  desk  a  resolution  condemning  the  acts  and 
doctrines  of  the  committee  as  "destructive  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  state  and  dangerous  to  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  her  citizens";  but  as  soon  as  the  purport  of 
it  became  known,  it  was  greeted  with  a  storm  of  hisses, 
and  the  reading  of  It  was  never  finished.  A  resolution 
of  much  milder  form  was  proposed  in  the  democratic 
convention,  but  no  action  was  taken  on  it.  Both  a 
presidential  and  a  senatorial  election  was  pending  that 
year,  and  neither  party  cared  to  jeopardize  Its  success 
by  experimenting  with  new  issues. 

Broderick  and  Gwin  were  chosen  senators  by  the 
legislature  elected  that  year,  and  within  a  few  days 
after  their  election  both  left  for  the  east  by  the  Panama 
steamer.  Gwin  went  direct  to  Washington  where  he 
arrived  before  congress  adjourned  on  March  4th,  and 
resumed  his  seat  in  the  senate  which  had  been  vacant 
for  two  years.  Broderick  went  direct  to  New  York, 
where  he  was  given  a  royal  welcome  by  the  friends 
whom  he  had  told  eight  years  before  that  he  would 
never  return  until  he  could  come  as  a  United  States 


130  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

senator.  From  New  York  he  went  to  Washington  in 
time  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  President  Buchanan 
and  attend  the  special  session  of  the  senate  that  is 
usually  held  after  a  new  president  is  inaugurated.  In 
Washington  he  was  shown  even  more  flattering  atten- 
tion than  he  had  received  in  New  York.  The  fact  that 
he  had  been  elected  for  a  full  term  by  the  same  legis- 
lature that  had  chosen  one  who  had  already  seen 
service  in  the  senate  to  an  unexpired  term,  was  evidence 
to  the  experienced  politicians  who  composed  the  senate, 
that  he  was  the  abler  manager,  or  more  popular  man 
in  his  state,  and  perhaps  both;  and  he  was  therefore 
greeted  as  one  whose  honors  had  been  well  won  and 
would  most  likely  be  long  worn.  Some  report  as  to 
his  attitude  on  the  slavery  question  had  also  preceded 
him,  and  this  caused  him  to  be  regarded  with  interest; 
for  the  slavery  question,  reopened  by  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill  in  1854,  was  once  more  a  burning  issue, 
and  was  discussed  in  and  out  of  congress  with  ever 
increasing  passion  and  bitterness. 

Kansas  was  a  battle  ground.  As  soon  as  it  was 
settled  that  the  people  in  it  should  decide,  when  they 
came  to  form  a  state  constitution,  whether  it  should  be 
slave  or  free,  colonization  societies  were  formed  in  the 
New  England  and  other  eastern  states,  to  encourage 
the  emigration  to  it  of  home  seekers  who  would  vote 
for  freedom.  The  southern  states  sent  slaveholders 
with  their  slaves,  while  troops  of  voters  crossed  the 
border  from  Missouri  on  election  days  to  vote  for 
slavery  and  then  return  to  their  own  state  again. 
Collisions  between  the  free  and  slave  state  men  in  it 
were  becoming  frequent.     Many   murders   had  been 


BRODERICK  131 


committed,  several  open  battles  had  been  fought  in 
which  people  had  been  killed  on  both  sides,  homes  had 
been  burned,  the  town  of  Lawrence  had  been  sacked, 
and  both  parties  were  arming  the  emigrants  they  helped 
to  go  thither  in  anticipation  of  future  trouble.*  In 
the  preceding  May  Preston  S.  Brooks,  a  member  of 
the  lower  house  from  South  Carolina,  had  attacked 
Senator  Sumner  at  his  desk  in  the  senate  chamber, 
and  beaten  him  into  insensibility  with  a  heavy  cane. 
Threats  of  disunion  were  frequently  made  in  and  out 
of  congress,  and  open  war  seemed  not  improbable. 
Among  such  conditions  the  advocates  of  freedom 
naturally  regarded  the  new  senator,  whose  election 
was  known  to  have  been  opposed  by  the  ultra  southern 
element  in  his  state,  with  a  lively  and  expectant  inter- 
est; the  southern  senators  already  knew  that  they  had 
nothing  to  hope  from  him  beyond  what  could  be  forced 
by  party  discipline. 

But  the  new  senator  was  not  long  to  retain  the  power 
and  popular  favor  he  seemed  to  have  won.  When  he 
left  California  he  had  believed  himself  to  be  in  position 
to  dominate  his  party  in  the  state  as  long  as  he  might 
care  to  do  so,  because  in  that  midnight  meeting  at  the 
Magnolia  hotel  in  Sacramento,  Gwin  had  abjectly 
surrendered  to  him  all  the  influence  he  would  be  entitled 
to  have  as  a  senator  in  the  distribution  of  the  federal 
patronage.  This  surrender  he  had  put  in  writing, 
though  that  writing  had  not  been  made  public,  nor 

*To  one  of  the  colonist  parties  organized  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  Reverend 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  sent  a  present  of  twenty-five  bibles  contributed  by  a  member 
of  his  church,  and  in  his  letter  transmitting  them  remarked  that  it  was  a  shame 
that  anything  but  moral  instrumentalities  should  be  needed  in  a  free  country;  but 
as  something  else  was  needed  he  also  sent  arms  for  twenty-five  men.  From  that 
time  forth  "Beecher's  bibles"  was  used  as  a  synonym  for  Sharp's  rifles. 


132  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

was  the  nature  of  it  further  known  to  any  than  had 
been  foreshadowed  by  Gwin  in  his  address  to  the  public 
on  the  day  of  his  election.  Broderick  in  fact  never 
intended  to  make  it  public,  for  as  a  secret  document  it 
was  likely  to  have  far  more  binding  effect  than  if 
published.  He  indeed  denied  that  any  surrender  of 
the  kind  had  been  made  to  him  a  long  time  after  he 
found  the  letter  ignored  and  set  at  nought;  and  only 
made  it  public  a  short  time  before  his  death,  when  it 
was  wrung  from  him  by  the  bitter  assaults  of  his 
opponents,  near  the  close  of  an  extremely  heated 
campaign. 

Broderick  discovered  the  worthlessness  of  Gwin's 
pledge  when  he  made  his  first  call  on  the  new  president. 
"It  was  cold  without,"  he  subsequently  said,  in  describ- 
ing his  reception,  "but  icy  within."  Buchanan  although 
a  Pennsylvanian,  was  under  the  absolute  domination 
of  southern  men.  Four  of  the  seven  members  of  his 
cabinet  were  from  the  south,  and  three  of  the  four 
controlled  the  treasury,  the  interior,  and  the  post  office 
departments,  through  which  most  of  the  patronage  of 
the  administration  was  distributed.  The  secretary 
of  war  was  a  Virginian,  and  the  secretary  of  the  navy, 
although  a  northern  man,  was  a  pro-slavery  extremist. 
Only  the  secretary  of  state  and  the  attorney  general 
were  northern  men  of  character,  and  these  had  compar- 
atively few  favors  to  distribute  that  Broderick's  friends 
were  seeking.  With  the  president  and  his  cabinet 
disposed  as  they  were  toward  him,  Broderick  found 
himself  not  only  not  all  powerful  in  his  state,  but  even 
shorn  of  the  influence  that  ought  to  have  belonged  to 
him.      He  must  not  only  disappoint  his  friends  or 


BRODERICK  133 


suffer  them  to  be  disappointed,  but  must  make  humili- 
ating explanations  that  would  more  than  likely  be 
misunderstood.  He  must  make  a  new  battle  to  main- 
tain his  place  in  the  party  management,  and  in  time 
for  his  own  reelection.  He  must  make  it  against  the 
great  disadvantage  of  having  failed  to  do  what  was 
expected  of  him,  and  of  having  all  the  resources  he  had 
thought  to  control  used  against  him. 

Possibly  Gwin  had  fully  intended  to  keep  the  pledge 
he  had  made  to  secure  his  election,  and  to  "turn  from 
patronage  and  the  curse  it  entails,"  as  he  had  promised 
in  his  address  made  to  the  public  two  days  later.  The 
most  charitable  view  of  the  matter,  and  probably 
the  correct  one,  is  that  the  pro-slavery  party  which 
surrounded  Buchanan  had  more  to  do  with  his  failure 
to  keep  it  than  he  had.  He  had  returned  to  Washington 
sufficiently  in  advance  of  Broderick  to  give  ample  time 
for  southern  senators  to  discover  what  his  true  position 
in  California  was.  The  fact  that  he  had  been  returned 
only  for  the  short  term,  was  evidence  that  he  was  not 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  He  needed  all 
that  his  party  could  give  him  to  enable  him  to  maintain 
his  place;  and  the  federal  patronage  in  California  was 
therefore  as  important  to  the  pro-slavery  party  as  to 
Gwin  himself.  It  could  not  afford  to  lose  the  vote  of 
the  senator  it  had  from  that  state.  There  was  urgent 
need  for  it  at  the  moment  to  win  K^ansas,  for  which 
its  partisans  were  already  resorting  to  most  desperate 
measures,  and  should  they  lose  there  they  would  need 
both  senators  from  California. 


134  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

As  Broderick  was  allowed  to  have  no  influence  in 
filling  the  federal  offices,*  and  Gwin  pretended  to  claim 
none,  the  appointments  were  apparently  left  to  the  two 
members  of  congress,  Charles  L.  Scott  and  Joseph  C. 
McKibben,  neither  of  whom  was  friendly  to  Broderick. 
With  Scott  he  had  nearly  come  to  blows  in  the  room 
of  the  committee  on  credentials  during  the  state  con- 
vention in  1855,  and  McKibben  though  afterwards  his 
friend,  had  up  to  that  time  generally  opposed  him. 
Both  were  at  the  time  Gwin's  partisans  and  the  new 
officers  named  by  them  were  nearly  all  southern  born 
and  Gwin's  staunch  supporters.  As  if  by  special 
arrangement  these  appointments  were  among  the  ear- 
liest made.  It  had  never  before  happened  that  the 
federal  offices  in  any  state  had  been  so  promptly 
changed  on  the  coming  of  a  new  administration  as  they 
now  were  in  California.  Broderick  was  not  only 
deprived  of  the  power  he  had  supposed  to  be  his  alone, 
but  it  was  turned  against  him  and  immediately  set  to 
work  to  destroy  him. 

It  is  evident  that  the  new  administration  and  the 
more  potent  influence  that  controlled  it,  had  thus  early 
determined  to  use  all  the  power  of  party  discipline  to 
promote  the  objects  it  had  in  view;  and  this  early  and 
emphatic  manifestation  was  not  only  designed  to  bring 
Broderick  into  subjection,  but  to  have  its  effect  upon 

*It  has  been  represented  by  several  writers  that  Buchanan  did  no  more  than  to 
require  that  Broderick  should  put  his  recommendations  of  the  candidates  he  wished 
to  have  appointed,  in  writing — something  that  no  president  had  done  before — and 
that  Broderick  refused.  No  proof  that  this  was  the  case  is  offered  and  none  is 
obtainable.  I  have  caused  inquiry  to  be  made  at  the  White  House  and  find  that 
no  papers  pertaining  to  appointments  are  on  file  there  of  an  earlier  date  than  Grant's 
first  administration.  There  is  no  reference  to  Broderick  in  Buchanan's  published 
papers. 


BRODERICK  135 


others  who  might  seem  disposed  to  be  refractory.  It 
is  true  that  Broderick's  independence  of  spirit  was  at 
the  time  only  generally  known,  but  Gwin's  subserviency 
had  been  proven.  The  loyal  partisan  had  been  kept 
out  of  his  seat  for  two  years  by  the  more  skillful  man- 
agement of  the  man  who  was  now  his  colleague  whose 
temper  had  not  been  tested,  and  the  occasion  was  a 
favorable  one  for  showing  what  all  might  expect  who 
ventured  to  disobey. 

Some  months  later  another  and  older  senator  was 
subjected  to  similar  treatment.  Just  before  the  regu- 
lar session  of  congress  opened  in  December  Senator 
Douglas  of  Illinois  was  at  the  White  House,  and  during 
a  talk  with  the  president  about  his  forthcoming  message, 
ventured  to  remonstrate  against  the  view  to  be  therein 
expressed  about  the  condition  of  things  in  Kansas. 
The  discussion  grew  warm,  and  finally  the  senator  told 
the  president  that  if  he  persisted  in  that  view  he  should 
take  issue  with  him,  whereupon  Buchanan  is  reported 
to  have  warned  him  that  "no  democrat  had  ever  yet 
differed  from  an  administration  of  his  own  choice  with- 
out being  crushed";  and  had  concluded  by  reminding 
him  of  the  fate  of  Tallmadge  and  Rives  who  had  dared 
to  oppose  President  Jackson.  To  this  Douglas  had 
indignantly  replied  that  General  Jackson  was  dead,  and 
left  the  room.  He  was  not  intimidated  by  the  presi- 
dent's threat,  as  is  well  known,  and  made  the  issue  as 
promised ;  but  in  the  following  year  when  he  was  making 
the  great  contest  for  his  seat  with  Lincoln,  the  admin- 
istration forces  were  all  opposing  him,  even  going  so 
far  as  to  nominate  an  opposition  ticket.  The  fight 
against  Broderick  and  that  against  Douglas  were  only 


136  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

parts  of  a  greater  battle;  they  were  made  by  similar 
means  for  the  same  end,  and  were  directed  by  the  same 
political  managers,  among  whom  Buchanan  was  one  of 
the  least  influential. 

Broderick  returned  to  the  coast  upon  the  adjournment 
of  the  special  session,  to  make  such  explanations  as  he 
could  to  his  disappointed  supporters,  and  take  part  in 
the  nomination  and  election  of  a  new  state  administra- 
tion. The  southern  senators  appear  to  have  expected 
that  he  would  begin  war  upon  the  president  at  once, 
and  perhaps  divide  the  party  in  California.  There  were 
two  factions  in  it  already,  and  had  been  for  a  long 
time,  known  as  the  "Chivalry"  or  southern,  and  the 
northern  or  "Tammany"  faction,  so  called  because  of 
the  methods  which  Broderick  had  learned  in  New  York 
and  made  use  of  in  San  Francisco  as  well  as  in  his  state 
campaigns,  and  their  efforts  to  control  had  steadily 
grown  in  activity  and  bitterness.  Broderick  still  had 
a  respectable  following,  notwithstanding  his  failure  to 
reward  his  friends  as  he  had  expected,  but  he  wisely 
refrained  from  making  an  issue  of  his  own  and  their 
disappointments.  He  even  made  no  special  effort  to 
control  the  convention  which  was  held  in  July,  though 
he  favored  the  nomination  of  J.  W.  McCorkle  for 
governor.  But  McCorkle  was  beaten  by  John  B. 
Weller  by  a  vote  of  251  to  61.  Only  one  friend  of 
Broderick's  gained  a  place  on  the  ticket — Stephen  J. 
Field  for  justice  of  the  supreme  court.  As  the  Know 
Nothing  party  was  by  this  time  rapidly  disintegrating, 
and  the  new  republican  party  not  yet  formidable, 
Weller  and  his  whole  ticket  were  easily  elected. 


BRODERICK  137 


By  the  time  congress  reassembled  in  December,  1857, 
the  troubles  in  Kansas  had  become  more  alarming  than 
ever.  Governor  Geary*  had  hoped  during  the  summer 
of  1856  that  he  would  soon  be  able  to  pacify  the 
warring  parties,  but  troubles  had  broken  out  afresh 
and  he  had  resigned.  A  new  governor  was  not  more 
successful  than  he  had  been.  The  free  state  men  had 
held  a  convention  at  Topeka,  in  which  the  pro-slavery 
men  had  refused  to  participate,  and  had  formed  a 
constitution  which  President  Pierce,  in  a  special  mes- 
sage had  denounced  as  illegal.  A  pro-slavery  conven- 
tion, in  the  election  of  which  the  free  state  men  had 
refused  to  participate,  had  met  at  Lecompton  and  in 
the  surprisingly  short  space  of  three  weeks  had  formed 
a  pro-slavery  constitution  under  which  Kansas  was  now 
asking  admission  to  the  Union.  This  constitution  had 
not  been  submitted  to  the  people  to  determine  whether 
they  would  accept  or  reject  it.  They  had  been  per- 
mitted to  vote  only  on  that  part  of  it  pertaining  to 
slavery,  and  on  that  they  could  vote  only  "for  the 
constitution  with  slavery"  or  "for  the  constitution 
without  slavery."  The  form  of  ballot  prescribed  pre- 
vented any  from  voting  against  the  constitution  and 
the  free  state  men  had  refused  to  vote  at  all.  The 
result,  as  reported  by  the  pro-slavery  party,  showed 
sixty-one  hundred  and  forty-three  votes  for  the  con- 
stitution with  slavery,  and  many  of  the  votes  returned 
were  afterwards  shown  to  be  fraudulent.  Such  a 
violent   protest   was    made   against   this    return   that 

*John  W.  Geary  who  had  been  the  first  mayor  of  San  Francisco.  California 
furnished  two  territorial  governors  for  Kansas — Geary  in  1856  and  John  W.  Denver 
in  1859. 


138  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

a  new  election  was  called,  at  which  the  issue  was  the 
adoption  or  rejection  of  the  constitution  as  a  whole, 
and  it  was  rejected  by  ten  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-six  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  the  pro- 
slavery  men  or  most  of  them  not  voting. 

In  spite  of  the  doubtful  origin  of  the  instrument, 
and  the  still  more  dubious  means  by  which  a  seeming 
approval  of  it  was  to  be  secured,  Buchanan  spoke  favor- 
ably of  it  in  his  annual  message  sent  to  congress  nearly 
three  weeks  before  the  first  vote  was  taken.  In  his 
view  the  convention  was  not  bound  to  submit  the  whole 
constitution  for  approval;  it  was  a  sufficient  compliance 
with  the  organic  act,  in  which  what  he  called  "the 
great  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty,  which  is  the 
vital  principle  of  our  free  institutions"  had  been  first 
formally  declared,  to  submit  the  question  of  slavery 
only.  This  had  been  done,  and  although  the  result 
had  not  then  been  ascertained  he  hoped  that  whatever 
it  might  be,  congress  might  approve  what  was  done  and 
so  end  the  controversy. 

As  soon  as  the  message  was  read  Douglas  moved 
that  the  usual  number  of  copies  be  printed,  and  in 
doing  so  gave  notice  that  he  entirely  dissented  from 
that  part  of  it  which  might  be  fairly  construed  as 
approving  the  proceedings  of  the  Lecompton  conven- 
tion. The  fight  was  now  on,  and  in  it  Douglas  was 
not  to  be  sustained  by  many  members  of  his  own  party. 
Senator  Stuart  of  Michigan  held  similar  views,  and  on 
December  23d  Broderick,  who  had  thus  far  taken  only 
a  modest  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  senate,  made  a 
short  speech  in  which  he  clearly  indicated  that  he,  too. 


BRODERICK  139 


dared  to  oppose  the  administration.  Buchanan  had 
been  his  choice,  he  said,  before  the  convention  met  to 
nominate  him,  and  no  senator  had  done  more  than  he, 
in  his  way,  to  secure  his  election.  He  regretted  that 
he  was  now  compelled  to  oppose  him,  but  he  believed 
him  and  his  cabinet  to  be  alone  responsible  for  the 
condition  of  things  in  Kansas.  "I  do  not  intend,"  he 
said,  "because  I  am  a  member  of  the  democratic  party, 
to  permit  the  president  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
elected  by  that  party,  to  create  civil  war  in  the  United 
States.  The  only  thing  that  has  astonished  me  in  this 
whole  matter  is  the  forbearance  of  the  people  of  Kansas. 
If  they  had  taken  the  delegates  to  the  Lecompton  conven- 
tion and  flogged  them,  or  cut  their  ears  off  and  driven  them 
out  of  the  country,  I  would  have  applauded  the  act." 

By  February  2d  a  certified  copy  of  the  Lecompton 
constitution  had  reached  Washington,  together  with 
the  results  of  the  two  ballotings  the  people  had  held 
on  it;  and  Buchanan  submitted  them  to  congress  in  a 
special  message.  In  it  he  argued  at  length  that  the 
free  state  people  of  Kansas  were  in  a  state  of  practical 
rebellion  against  the  government  that  had  been  pro- 
vided for  them;  that  while  they  had  formed  a  state 
constitution  they  had  done  it  by  illegal  methods;  that 
the  Lecompton  constitution  had  been  formed  by  a 
legally  constituted  body,  and  that  the  submission  of 
the  slavery  clause  of  it  only  to  popular  vote  was  in  fact 
a  compliance  with  the  organic  act,  which  had  inter- 
preted itself  so  far  as  to  declare  that  its  true  intent  and 
meaning  was  "not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  state 
or  territory,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave 


140  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  regulate  their 
domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only 
to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Now  began  one  of  the  memorable  contests  in  the 
history  of  the  senate.  The  president's  contention  was 
stoutly  supported  by  all  the  senators  from  the  south 
and  their  northern  adherents  like  Gwin  and  a  few 
others;  while  Douglas,  Stuart,  and  Broderick,  and  all 
the  anti-slavery  senators,  chief  among  whom  were 
Seward  of  New  York,  Chase  and  Wade  of  Ohio, 
Trumbull  of  Illinois,  Fessenden  of  Maine,  Wilson  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania,  opposed. 

Broderick's  principal  speech  was  made  on  March  iid. 
It  was  not  as  long  as  those  made  by  some  of  the  older 
senators,  and  yet  it  was  of  respectable  length.  He 
made  no  attempt  to  present  the  constitutional  or  legal 
phases  of  the  matter,  about  which  others  had  contended 
at  great  length,  but  viewed  it  wholly  from  the  stand- 
point of  one  who  had  sprung  from  the  ranks  of  free 
northern  laborers.  Briefly  sketching  the  earlier  battles 
and  compromises  on  the  slavery  question,  he  declared 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  in  1820,  had  been  car- 
ried by  southern  votes;  the  few  northern  men  who  had 
supported  it  were  consigned  to  oblivion  immediately 
after  they  had  returned  home.  But  the  north  had  finally 
been  reconciled  to  it  and  for  twenty-five  years  peace 
had  reigned.  Then  came  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
followed  by  the  acquisition  of  California,  the  admission 
of  that  state  in  1850,  and  then  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
act  of  1854.  He  thought  republicans  ought  to  rejoice 
because  of  that  act,  as  without  it  there  would  be  no 
republican  party.     By  repealing  the  Missouri  Compro- 


BRODERICK  141 

mise  it  had  opened  all  the  territories,  including  that 
which  had  been  irrevocably  devoted  to  slavery  by 
that  compromise,  to  a  contest  between  free  and  slave 
labor.  From  the  moment  that  act  became  law,  slavery 
and  freedom  had  confronted  each  other  in  all  the 
territories.  The  north  had  felt  that  a  great  wrong  had 
been  done,  but  this  was  a  mistake.  The  north  should 
have  rejoiced  and  the  south  murmured,  for  the  rampart 
that  had  protected  slavery  in  the  region  south  of  the 
compromise  line  had  been  broken  down.  Northern 
ideas  and  northern  institutions  were  then  invited  to  a 
contest  for  all  the  territories.  "How  foolish  for  the 
south  to  hope  to  contend  with  success  in  such  a  contest. 
Slavery  is  old,  decrepit,  and  consumptive;  freedom  is 
young,  strong,  and  vigorous.  The  one  is  naturally 
stationary  and  loves  ease;  the  other  is  migratory  and 
enterprising.  There  are  six  millions  of  people  inter- 
ested in  the  extension  of  slavery.  There  are  twenty 
millions  of  free  men  to  contend  for  these  territories  out 
of  which  to  carve  themselves  homes  where  labor  is 
honorable.  *  *  *  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  southern 
gentlemen  that  millions  of  laboring  freemen  are  born 
every  year,  who  demand  subsistence  and  will  have  it? 
That  as  the  marts  of  labor  become  crowded  they  will 
crowd  into  the  territories  and  take  possession  of  them?" 
A  few  days  earlier  Senator  Hammond  of  South 
Carolina,  in  contrasting  the  advantage  of  free  and  slave 
labor,  had  referred  to  the  free  laborers  of  the  north  as 
"white  slaves  and  the  mudsills  of  society,"  and  to  this 
Broderick  felt  called  upon  to  reply.  "The  senator 
from  South  Carolina  very  boastingly  told  us  how  much 
cotton  the  south  exported,  and  that  cotton  was  king. 


140  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  regulate  their 
domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only 
to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Now  began  one  of  the  memorable  contests  in  the 
history  of  the  senate.  The  president's  contention  was 
stoutly  supported  by  all  the  senators  from  the  south 
and  their  northern  adherents  like  Gwin  and  a  few 
others;  while  Douglas,  Stuart,  and  Broderick,  and  all 
the  anti-slavery  senators,  chief  among  whom  were 
Seward  of  New  York,  Chase  and  Wade  of  Ohio, 
Trumbull  of  Illinois,  Fessenden  of  Maine,  Wilson  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania,  opposed. 

Broderick's  principal  speech  was  made  on  March  22d. 
It  was  not  as  long  as  those  made  by  some  of  the  older 
senators,  and  yet  it  was  of  respectable  length.  He 
made  no  attempt  to  present  the  constitutional  or  legal 
phases  of  the  matter,  about  which  others  had  contended 
at  great  length,  but  viewed  it  wholly  from  the  stand- 
point of  one  who  had  sprung  from  the  ranks  of  free 
northern  laborers.  Briefly  sketching  the  earlier  battles 
and  compromises  on  the  slavery  question,  he  declared 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  in  1820,  had  been  car- 
ried by  southern  votes;  the  few  northern  men  who  had 
supported  it  were  consigned  to  oblivion  immediately 
after  they  had  returned  home.  But  the  north  had  finally 
been  reconciled  to  it  and  for  twenty-five  years  peace 
had  reigned.  Then  came  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
followed  by  the  acquisition  of  California,  the  admission 
of  that  state  in  1850,  and  then  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
act  of  1854.  He  thought  republicans  ought  to  rejoice 
because  of  that  act,  as  without  it  there  would  be  no 
republican  party.     By  repealing  the  Missouri  Compro- 


BRODERICK  141 


mise  it  had  opened  all  the  territories,  including  that 
which  had  been  irrevocably  devoted  to  slavery  by 
that  compromise,  to  a  contest  between  free  and  slave 
labor.  From  the  moment  that  act  became  law,  slavery 
and  freedom  had  confronted  each  other  in  all  the 
territories.  The  north  had  felt  that  a  great  wrong  had 
been  done,  but  this  was  a  mistake.  The  north  should 
have  rejoiced  and  the  south  murmured,  for  the  rampart 
that  had  protected  slavery  in  the  region  south  of  the 
compromise  line  had  been  broken  down.  Northern 
ideas  and  northern  institutions  were  then  invited  to  a 
contest  for  all  the  territories.  "How  foolish  for  the 
south  to  hope  to  contend  with  success  in  such  a  contest. 
Slavery  is  old,  decrepit,  and  consumptive;  freedom  is 
young,  strong,  and  vigorous.  The  one  is  naturally 
stationary  and  loves  ease;  the  other  is  migratory  and 
enterprising.  There  are  six  millions  of  people  inter- 
ested in  the  extension  of  slavery.  There  are  twenty 
millions  of  free  men  to  contend  for  these  territories  out 
of  which  to  carve  themselves  homes  where  labor  is 
honorable.  *  *  *  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  southern 
gentlemen  that  millions  of  laboring  freemen  are  born 
every  year,  who  demand  subsistence  and  will  have  it? 
That  as  the  marts  of  labor  become  crowded  they  will 
crowd  into  the  territories  and  take  possession  of  them?" 
A  few  days  earlier  Senator  Hammond  of  South 
Carolina,  in  contrasting  the  advantage  of  free  and  slave 
labor,  had  referred  to  the  free  laborers  of  the  north  as 
"white  slaves  and  the  mudsills  of  society,"  and  to  this 
Broderick  felt  called  upon  to  reply.  "The  senator 
from  South  Carolina  very  boastingly  told  us  how  much 
cotton  the  south  exported,  and  that  cotton  was  king. 


144  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

read  it  out.  He  denied  the  right  of  the  administration 
to  make  party  tests — that  power  rested  only  with  the 
democratic  masses.  The  doctrines  of  self  appointed 
party  leaders  should  not  be  the  test  of  his  democracy. 

He  would  not,  he  said,  coerce  the  people  of  Kansas  to 
accept  a  government  they  abhorred.  He  had  no  fear 
that  they  would  permit  this  constitution  to  be  enforced. 
If  they  did  permit  it  they  would  deserve  to  be  subjected 
to  the  most  abject  slavery.  In  his  former  speech  he 
had  said  that  the  president  should  be  held  responsible 
for  the  difficulties  in  Kansas.  This  remark  had  been 
considered  startling  and  been  made  the  subject  of 
much  censure;  but  recent  developments  had  confirmed 
him  in  that  opinion.  Four-fifths  of  the  people  of 
Kansas  were  opposed  to  the  Lecompton  constitution. 
Every  election  in  the  territory  looking  to  this  con- 
stitution as  a  result  was  founded  in  fralid.  The  fact 
was  known  to  the  president,  and,  said  he,  "I  hope 
in  mercy,  sir,  to  the  boasted  intelligence  of  this 
age,  the  historian  when  writing  the  history  of  these 
times,  will  ascribe  the  attempt  of  the  executive  to  force 
this  constitution  upon  an  unwilling  people  to  the  fading 
intellect,  the  petulent  passion,  and  the  trembling  dotage 
of  an  old  man  on  the  verge  of  the  grave."* 

This  was  the  longest  speech  Broderick  made  in  the 
senate.  His  detractors  have  attempted  to  make  it 
appear  that  it  was  written  for  him  by  some  friend, 
probably  George  Wilkes,  but  there  is  no  internal  evi- 
dence that  this  is  so.  From  the  first  Broderick  bore 
his  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  senate,  with  confi- 
dence  and   generally   with   credit.     He   was   a   good 

*Appendix  to  the  Congressional  Globe,  1st  sess.  35th  cong.,  p.  191-3. 


BRODERICK  145 

parliamentarian  and  frequently  took  part  in  the  run- 
ning debates.  He  spoke  on  the  Pacific  railroad  bill, 
in  favor  of  the  central  and  against  the  extreme  southern 
route  which  Gwin  favored,  and  to  which  the  south- 
ern senators  would  alone  consent.  During  the  second 
session  he  urged  that  the  overland  mail  for  California 
be  transferred  from  the  long  southern  route  by  which 
it  was  then  carried,  to  the  Salt  Lake  route,  and  that 
an  additional  contract  be  made  to  carry  it  between 
Salt  Lake  and  San  Francisco.  In  returning  east  during 
the  summer  of  1858,  he  had  gone  overland  via  Salt  Lake 
and  declared  that  the  contractors,  if  left  to  decide  the 
matter,  would  carry  it  by  that  line;  it  would  also  give 
a  large  majority  of  Californians  their  mail  several  days 
earlier  than  they  were  receiving  it.  He  also,  and  per- 
haps with  some  satisfaction,  suggested  that  the  salaries 
of  the  principal  federal  office  holders  should  be  reduced, 
saying  that  they  had  been  fixed  when  the  cost  of  living 
was  very  high  on  the  coast,  and  that  reason  no  longer 
existed.  He  also  denounced  an  attempt  to  sell  Lime 
Point  to  the  government  for  ^200,000  saying  it  would 
not  sell  under  the  hammer  for  ^7,000.  The  attempt 
had  apparently  been  engineered  by  Gwin,  through  the 
district  attorney  at  San  Francisco,  but  when  called 
upon  he  could  not  tell  whether  the  area  to  be  purchased 
was  23,000  acres  or  2,300.  Broderick  declared  it  made 
little  difference.  The  government  did  not  require 
either  amount  for  the  fortifications  it  was  to  build  there, 
and  23,000  acres  in  that  region  was  worth  but  little  if 
anything  more  than  2,300  were.  In  reply  Gwin  sub- 
mitted a  letter  from  the  district  attorney  saying  that 
the  owner  would  only  sell  the  whole  or  none. 


146  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Though  never  speaking  at  great  length  Broderick 
always  spoke  forcefully  and  to  the  point.  If  questioned 
as  he  frequently  was,  and  as  others  were,  he  replied 
readily  and  decorously,  though  in  the  tense  conditions 
that  then  prevailed  this  was  sometimes  difficult. 
Judged  by  the  speeches  themselves  there  is  no  more 
reason  to  believe  that  the  longer  was  prepared  for  him 
than  that  the  others  were,  which  would  have  been 
impossible. 

Weller,  the  new  governor,  was  of  course  not  friendly 
to  Broderick  who  had  succeeded  to  the  place  he  had 
held  in  the  senate  and  was  very  anxious  to  retain. 
That  he  could  have  retained  it  was  not  possible  since 
Broderick  had  been  the  strongest  of  all  the  candidates, 
and  had  chosen  to  take  that  seat  himself;  but  he  might 
have  been  elected  for  the  four  year  term  in  place  of 
Gwin,  had  Judge  Heydenfeldt  his  manager,  accepted 
the  proposition  made  to  him  by  Broderick  before  the 
balloting  began,  to  give  him  votes  enough  to  secure 
that  place  for  him  in  return  for  only  two  votes  for 
himself  for  the  full  term.  The  judge  is  said  to  have 
reported  to  him  that  the  proposition  had  been  made, 
and  explained  why  he  had  declined  it;  but  the  explana- 
tion was  not  satisfactory  and  a  coolness  between  judge 
and  governor  resulted.*  Although  born  in  a  northern 
state  Weller  had  been  as  staunch  a  supporter  of  the 
slavery  party  as  any  southern  senator,  and  was  still  a 
champion  of  the  slavery  cause  in  Kansas.  The  legis- 
lature of  1858  was  strongly  anti-Broderick,  and  the 
governor  and  the  chivalry  faction  in  the  legislature 
knew  that  Broderick  felt  aggrieved  at  the  treatment  he 

*0'Meara,  Broderick  and  Gwin,  p.  igy. 


BRODERICK  147 


had  received  from  Buchanan,  and  with  reason.  They 
knew,  too,  that  his  imperious  temper  would  not  long 
submit  to  such  treatment  without  protest,  and  that  he 
would  be  likely  to  come  to  an  open  break  with  the 
administration  at  an  early  opportunity,  most  likely  on 
the  Kansas  question.  In  order  to  forestall  such  action 
a  joint  resolution  was  adopted  instructing  the  senators 
and  requesting  the  representatives  from  California  to 
support  the  policy  that  Buchanan  had  recommended 
in  his  message. 

This  resolution  was  not  adopted  until  March  21st, 
and  consequently  did  not  reach  Washington  until  long 
after  Broderick  had  made  his  two  speeches — the  last 
on  March  226. — against  the  Lecompton  constitution, 
and  voted  against  it  on  March  23d.  When  it  did  reach 
the  capital  it  was  presented  in  the  senate  by  Gwin,  and 
as  soon  as  it  was  read  Broderick  rose  and  said:  "The 
resolution  introduced  by  my  colleague  will  have  no 
influence  upon  my  action  now,  or  in  future.  I  am 
satisfied  that  four-fifths  of  the  people  of  California 
repudiate  the  Lecompton  fraud.  I  shall  respect  the 
wishes  of  the  people,  and  pay  no  respect  to  the  reso- 
lution passed  by  a  legislature  not  representing  the 
opinion  of  the  people  of  California." 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  congress  on  June  14th 
Broderick  and  Congressman  McKibben,  who  had 
opposed  the  administration  in  the  house,  returned  to 
California  to  take  part  in  the  unimportant  election  of 
1858  and  meet  their  constituents.  They  found  their 
party  very  much  divided.  So  many  counties  sent 
contesting  delegations  to  the  state  convention  in 
August  that  separate  conventions  were  held,  and  the 


148  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

anti-Lecompton  party  was  formed.  The  canvass  was 
short  and  the  Lecompton  faction  was  successful,  its 
candidates  receiving  over  eight  thousand  votes  more 
than  were  cast  by  the  anti-Lecompton  and  republicans 
combined. 

Broderick  returned  east  by  the  overland  route  via 
Salt  Lake,  to  observe  the  country,  and  collect  informa- 
tion that  would  be  of  value  in  his  advocacy  of  that 
route  for  the  transcontinental  mails,  as  well  as  for  the 
long  hoped  for  Pacific  railroad.  In  the  succeeding 
session  he  was  as  attentive  to  his  duties  as  he  had 
formerly  been,  being  present  at  every  sitting  of  the 
senate  or  meeting  of  a  committee.  The  fight  over 
Kansas  grew  more  and  more  bitter.  The  republican 
party  was  rapidly  growing  stronger  in  the  north,  while 
the  whole  strength  of  the  south  was  massed  in  oppo- 
sition. Threats  were  daily  made  in  both  houses  to 
break  up  the  Union  in  the  event  of  the  election  of  a 
republican  president.  Courteous  language  was  still 
used  in  the  debates,  though  it  was  coldly  courteous 
only,  and  senators  and  members  often  approached 
dangerously  near  the  line  which  both  knew  they  could 
not  pass  without  an  open  rupture.  "There  are  no 
relations  not  indispensable  for  the  conduct  of  joint 
business  between  the  north  and  south  in  either  house," 
wrote  Senator  Hammond  less  than  a  year  later  when 
the  situation  was  not  more  tense  than  it  had  been. 
"Everybody  has  a  revolver,  and  the  south  does  not 
intend  again  to  be  surprised  into  hearing  another 
Lovejoy  speech."*     On  the  other  hand  anti-Lecompton 

*Letter  of  April  22,  i860,  to  Major  M.  C.  M.  Hammond,  quoted  by  McMaster 
Vol.  Fill,  p.  446. 


BRODERICK  149 


senators  had  resolved  to  express  their  opinions  on  the 
slavery  and  all  other  questions  in  the  boldest  and  most 
positive  language,  and  if  called  to  account  in  or  out  of 
the  senate,  to  defend  themselves  and  the  honor  of  their 
states  as  occasion  might  demand.*  Broderick  had  been 
one  of  these. 

When  the  thirty-fifth  congress  adjourned  in  March 
1859,  the  California  senators  and  members  prepared 
to  return  home  to  engage  in  the  state  campaign  of  that 
year.  Broderick  went  by  way  of  New  York  to  pay  a 
parting  visit  to  friends  there.  Some  of  these,  and  others 
in  Washington  afterwards  remembered  that  he  seemed  to 
be  more  than  usually  depressed.  To  some  of  the  latter, 
when  discussing  plans  for  the  session  of  the  following 
winter,  he  had  used  the  expression,  "If  I  should  live  to 
return,  and  not  resign  meantime,"  which  had  caused 
no  remark  though  it  sounded  strangely,  used  as  it  was 
by  a  man  of  thirty-nine  and  in  excellent  health.  His 
last  words  to  friends  in  New  York  were:  "You  will 
see  me  no  more." 

This  was  not  merely  the  expression  of  a  gloomy 
foreboding.  The  campaign  which  would  open  as  soon 
as  he  arrived  in  California  would  be  an  exceedingly 
bitter  one;  the  course  he  had  himself  resolved  to  take 
would  help  to  make  it  so,  and  he  knew  that  others  would 
not  be  less  aggressive  than  himself.  The  administra- 
tion party,   led   by  Gwin   and   supported  by  Weller, 

*"I  shall  express  my  opinions  touching  her  (Vermont's)  interests  upon  all  proper 
occasions  in  such  language  as  I  deem  consistent  with  the  dignity  and  position  of  a 
senator.  If  assaulted  or  insulted  for  such  expression  I  shall  undertake  to  defend  the 
honor  of  Vermont."  Senator  Solomon  Foote  quoted  by  Chittenden,  Recollections  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  p.  21.  Twenty-five  years  after  Broderick's  death  there  were 
still  members  of  the  senate  and  house  in  Washington,  who  would  tell  upon  occasion 
how  nearly  Broderick  was  allied  at  this  time,  with  men  like  Foote,  Wade,  and 
Chandler. 


150  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Latham,  and  the  entire  force  of  federal  and  state  office 
holders  would  be  opposed  to  him,  would  discredit  him 
in  every  way,  and  if  possible  drive  him  out  of  public 
life.  McKibben,  now  his  friend  and  follower,  would 
seek  vindication  by  reelection,  and  his  fight  would  be 
the  fight  of  both.  His  party  was  divided  and  his  fac- 
tion apparently  the  weaker.  It  was  still  unorganized 
in  many  of  the  counties,  while  the  opposition  would 
benefit  by  the  organization  he  had  himself  built  up. 
The  election  would  be  held  early  in  September  and  the 
time  for  preparation  was  short.  The  battle,  when  it 
opened  would  not  be  limited  by  the  conventional  lines 
that  had  been  so  carefully  observed  in  Washington. 
It  was  more  than  probable  that  the  fighting  would  not 
be  confined  to  the  mere  exchange  of  verbal  accusations 
and  denunciations,  nor  ended  when  the  ballots  were 
counted.  Dueling  was  then  as  common  in  California 
as  in  the  south,  although  the  constitution  forbade  it 
and  a  statute  passed  in  1850  made  it  a  felony.  But 
neither  the  constitution  nor  the  statute  were  much 
regarded.  Some  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the 
state  had  fought  and  some  of  the  most  respected  had 
been  killed.  Edward  Gilbert  who  had  been  in  the 
constitutional  convention,  later  a  member  of  congress 
and  editor  of  the  "Alta  California,"  had  fought  J.  W. 
Denver  in  August,  1852,  and  had  fallen  shot  through 
the  body.  John  Nugent,  editor  of  the  "Herald,"  and 
John  Cotter,  a  member  of  the  city  council,  had  met 
in  the  same  year,  and  B.  F.  Washington,  now  collector 
of  customs,  had  exchanged  shots  with  Charles  A.  Wash- 
burn two  years  later.  Gwin  and  J.  W.  McCorkle  had 
fought  with  rifles  in  San  Mateo  county,  and  there  had 


BRODERICK  151 


been  many  other  similar  encounters  in  which  men  of 
prominence  had  engaged.  In  August  of  the  preceding 
year  William  I.  Ferguson,  a  state  senator  from  Sacra- 
mento county,  and  George  Pen  Johnston,  clerk  of  the 
United  States  circuit  court  at  San  Francisco,  had  fought 
with  rifles  on  Angel  island.  Both  had  been  wounded 
at  the  fourth  fire  and  Ferguson  had  subsequently  died. 
The  two  had  been  firm  friends  and  boon  companions 
up  to  within  two  days  before  the  fatal  encounter. 
Both  were  scholarly  men,  of  lively  spirit,  widely  known, 
and  general  favorites  with  all  who  had  business  in  the 
federal  courts  or  at  the  state  capitol.  Johnston  could 
repeat  much  of  the  best  poetry  in  the  language,  while 
Ferguson's  scintillating  wit,  unfailing  good  humor,  and 
readiness  to  sing  a  song  or  tell  a  story,  had  won  for 
him  the  sobriquet  of  "Ipse-doodle"  and  hindered  the 
advancement  he  would  otherwise  have  had.  No  two 
men  in  the  state  had  seemed  so  little  likely  to  quarrel 
as  they  up  to  the  moment  when,  in  discussing  the 
burning  issue  of  the  time,  sharp  words  had  been 
exchanged  and  the  duel  followed. 

Ferguson,  though  formerly  a  Know  Nothing,  had 
presided  over  the  anti-Lecomption  convention  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  was  now  recognized  as  one  of 
Broderick's  staunchest  supporters.  After  his  death  his 
desk  at  the  state  capitol  had  been  broken  open,  and  the 
papers  in  it  disarranged,  as  if  search  had  been  made  for 
something  with  morfe  than  ordinary  eagerness.  It  was 
suspected  that  the  letter  which  Gwin  had  given  Broder- 
ick  at  that  midnight  meeting  in  the  Magnolia  hotel  was 
the  thing  sought  for,  and  that  the  duel  had  been  deliber- 
ately planned  in  order  to  make  the  opportunity  for  this 


152  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

search  possible.  So  far  only  Gwin  and  Broderick,  and 
the  person  to  whose  care  the  letter  might  have  been 
entrusted  for  safe  keeping,  were  supposed  to  know  of  its 
existence;  but  if  this  suspicion  had  any  real  foundation, 
it  indicated  that  more  blood  might  be  shed  in  order  to 
get  it  out  of  the  way. 

The  death  of  his  friend  was  undoubtedly  in  some 
degree  the  cause  of  Broderick's  forebodings.  It  at 
least  suggested  that  what  had  not  been  found  in  the 
broken  desk  would  be  further  sought  for,  and  that 
other  lives  might  be  sacrificed  if  need  be  in  the  search. 
But  if  Broderick  thought  of  such  things  they  in  no  way 
changed  his  plans. 

He  and  McKibben  did  not  reach  San  Francisco  until 
the  middle  of  April,  but  their  friends  had  begun  to 
prepare  for  the  campaign  much  earlier.  At  a  meeting 
held  in  Sacramento  in  February  they  had  resolved  to 
set  to  work  at  once  in  every  county,  particularly  in 
the  fourteen  in  which  they  as  yet  had  no  organization, 
so  that  all  might  certainly  be  represented  in  the  state 
convention.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  they  had  re- 
solved to  have  no  affiliation  with  the  Lecompton  party, 
but  to  make  the  issue  squarely  between  Lecompton 
and  anti-Lecompton,  the  administration  and  anti- 
administration,  Broderick  and  anti-Broderick.  All 
this  was  doubtless  done  at  the  suggestion  of  Broderick 
and  McKibben,  who,  living  as  they  had  been  for  months 
in  the  atmosphere  of  Washington,  realized  that  the 
Kansas  question  must  overshadow  all  others  until 
finally  settled. 

McKibben  opened  his  campaign  early  in  May  with 
a  speech  at  San  Francisco  in  which  he  defended  his 


BRODERICK  153 


course  in  opposing  the  administration.  Other  anti- 
Lecompton  meetings  were  held  in  the  principal  towns 
of  the  interior,  all  of  which  were  well  attended  and  the 
speakers  liberally  applauded.  At  the  spring  elections 
the  anti-Lecompton  city  tickets  were  elected  at  Stock- 
ton, Marysville,  Nevada,  and  Santa  Cruz,  which  gave 
members  of  that  faction  much  reason  to  hope  for 
success  in  September. 

Gwin  and  his  sympathizers  were  not  idle.  The 
federal  officials  had  been  at  work  almost  from  the  hour 
of  their  appointment.  They  were  nearly  all  his  friends, 
and  their  subordinates  held  their  places  by  virtue  of 
birth  and  loyalty  to  the  national  administration.  The 
custom  house  was  more  than  ever  a  "Virginia  poor 
house,"  and  most  of  the  other  offices  as  well  deserved 
the  sobriquet.  Even  Frank  Tilford,  the  naval  officer, 
once  Broderick's  confidant  and  most  intimate  political 
friend,  was  now  classed  with  the  chivalry.  He  had 
hoped  to  be  collector  of  customs,  and  though  he 
had  depended  chiefly  on  Latham  to  secure  the  place 
for  him,  had  not  held  Broderick  wholly  blameless  for 
his  failure  to  get  it.  The  appraiser,  the  marshal,  dis- 
trict attorney,  postmaster,  Indian  agent,  surveyor 
general,  and  a  considerable  number  of  contractors  on 
government  works,  were  all  southern  born  or  southern 
sympathizers.  Governor  Weller,  anxious  to  be  re- 
elected and  still  smarting  over  his  defeat  for  the  senate, 
with  the  usual  list  of  state  officials,  all  were  with  the 
Lecompton  party,  as  were  most  of  the  members  of 
the   legislature,    who   in   the   preceding   January   had 


154  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

passed  a  joint  resolution  severely  censuring  Broderick 
for  not  obeying  the  instruction  voted  by  its  predecessor 
in  1858.* 

One  of  his  contemporaries,  an  eminent  member  of 
the  bar  of  San  Francisco,  has  said  of  Broderick  at 
this  time:  "A  less  brave  or  less  conscientious  politician 
would  have  evaded  the  struggle  *  *  *  in  which  he 
could  hardly  have  hoped  to  succeed.  Not  so  with 
Broderick.  He  not  only  renounced  the  cherished 
pleasure  of  his  life,  but  accepted  the  alternative, 
although  he  clearly  saw  defeat  in  the  issue,  and  death 
in  the  vanishing  point  of  the  vista.  *  *  *  Against  all 
the  weapons  that  would  surely  seek  his  life,  he  could 
not  even  hope  to  stand;  it  was  even  almost  hoping 
against  hope  to  expect  that  he  could  defer  the  per- 
sonal sacrifices  until  after  the  political  contest  had 
been  terminated."! 

A  shallower  politician,  or  one  who  looked  only  to 
present  success,  would  have  sought  a  combination  with 
the  republicans  at  the  beginning.  That  party  could 
then  hardly  claim  to  have  an  organization  in  California, 
and  certainly  had  no  hope  for  success.  It  would  make 
the  pending  campaign  on  the  anti-Lecompton  issue, 
and  many  of  its  members  as  well  as  many  of  the  anti- 
Lecompton  party  were  in  favor  of  combining.  Horace 
Greeley,  then  the  most  influential  journalist  in  the 
country,  visited  the  state  in  August  and  recommended 
it,  just  as  he  had  earlier  urged  the  republicans  of 
Illinois  to  support  Douglas  instead  of  Lincoln  in  the 

*This  resolution  was  expunged  from  the  record  by  the  legislature  of  1861. 
tFuneral  oration  in  New  York  by  John  W.  Dwindle,  quoted  by  Bancroft* 
History  of  California,  Vol.  VI,  p.  756. 


BRODERICK  155 


great  senatorial  campaign  then  pending  in  that  state. 
But  Greeley  was  not  an  astute  politician,  and  his 
advice  was  unheeded  in  both  states.  Neither  party 
was  ready  for  such  a  union;  the  ablest  men  in  both 
opposed  it.  The  republicans  stood  as  they  had  stood 
since  the  Wilmot  proviso  was  first  offered  in  congress, 
opposed  to  the  admission  of  slaves  into  any  of  the 
territories.  The  Douglas  party  in  Illinois  and  the 
Broderick  party  in  California  clung  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  act,  that  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tories should  be  left  to  decide  the  slavery  and  all  other 
domestic  questions  for  themselves  when  they  came  to 
form  state  constitutions.  The  difference  was  vital  and 
could  only  be  overcome,  or  overlooked,  when  a  graver 
issue  should,  as  it  soon  did,  force  it  aside. 

The  republicans  held  their  convention  June  8th, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  delegates  attending.  Some 
disposition  to  unite  with  the  anti-Lecompton  party  was 
manifested  in  it.  Edward  D.  Baker  favored  it,  though 
Frank  M.  Pixley  opposed  and  defeated  it.  Both  were 
candidates  for  governor,  together  with  Leland  Stan- 
ford, D.  R.  Ashley,  T.  G.  Phelps  and  Samuel  Bell. 
Stanford  was  nominated.  Baker  and  P.  H.  Sibley  being 
named  for  congress. 

Broderick's  partisans,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  and  representing  all  but  six  of  the  counties, 
met  June  15th,  and  named  John  Currey  for  governor, 
John  Conness  for  lieutenant-governor,  and  Joseph  C. 
McKibben  and  S.  A.  Booker  for  congress.  Two  of 
Broderick's  oldest  and  staunchest  supporters,  Alfred 
Redington  and  J.  W.  McCorkle  had  sought  the  nomi- 


156  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

nation  for  governor,  but  both  withdrew  in  order  that 
Currey,  who  was  favored  by  Broderick  might  be 
named.* 

The  Lecompton  convention  was  held  last,  and  just 
a  week  after  the  anti-Lecompton  ticket  had  been 
named.  It  nominated  Milton  S.  Latham  for  governor 
over  John  B.  Weller  and  John  Nugent,  A.  P.  Dudley, 
and  J.  W.  Denver  withdrawing.  John  G.  Downey  was 
named  for  lieutenant-governor,  and  Charles  L.  Scott 
and  John  C.  Burch  for  congressmen. 

The  platform  of  the  republicans  declared  their 
unalterable  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  slavery 
into  territories,  and  denounced  the  disposition  of  con- 
gress to  force  it  into  regions  where  it  did  not  exist,  as 
an  "alarming  evidence  of  the  advance  in  the  demands 
of  the  slave  power."  That  of  the  anti-Lecompton 
party  reaffirmed  its  adherence  to  the  platform  on  which 
Buchanan  had  been  nominated;  declared  that  the  peo- 
ple in  the  territories  should  be  allowed  to  legislate  or 
omit  to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  as  well  as 
all  other  matters;  denounced  the  Buchanan  adminis- 
tration for  "its  outrages  upon  the  people  of  Kansas"; 
its  "unrelenting  proscription  of  tried  and  worthy 
democrats;  its  constant  violation  of  the  pledges  which 
brought  it  into  life,  and  its  attempts  to  render  the 
legislative  subject  to  the  executive  department."  The 
declaration  of  the  Lecompton  party  was  cleverly 
planned  to  secure  the  votes  of  all  who  might  be  per- 
suaded to  judge  it  by  what  it  said  rather  than  by  what 

*Currey  had  been  the  candidate  for  judge  of  the  supreme  court  on  both  the 
republican  and  anti-Lecompton  tickets  in  1858,  and  Broderick  favored  his  nomina- 
tion, hoping  that  the  republicans  might  in  the  end  vote  for  him  in  preference  to 
their  own  candidate. 


TIMOTHY  GUY  PHELPS 
Born  in  Chenango  county,  New  York,  December  20,  1824; 
came  to  California  December  14,  1849;  engaged  in  mining 
and,  later,  in  mercantile  business  in  San  Francisco;  member  of 
legislature  in  1856,  and  served  two  terms  in  State  Senate. 
In  1861  was  candidate  before  the  Republican  State  Conven- 
tion for  the  nomination  for  governor  but  was  defeated  by 
Leland  Stanford;  later  elected  to  congress;  collector  of  the 
port  of  San  Francisco.  1869.  In  1875  he  received  the  Repub- 
lican nomination  for  governor,  but  was  defeated  by  William 
Irwin,  the  Democratic  nominee. 


'  OF  C\]         , 

or  gOv  order  that 

who  -^ight    be 

The  and  jusi 

id  been 
.1"  governor 
'^   Dudley, 

ney  was 
.,^^sii[i)^Syo^smckdOkimiiL.  Scoti 

imolilfiO  oJ  3rn£D 

fleclMm    their 


affr-Tjdaoliislaver}' 

i<Mioi  con- 

;^3«ii)Tj6iiiifle3^1n<^ist,  as 

'  '  """''' ^'  "'"^^(bmand.s 

.    ...     ...-ompton 

DJatform  on  which 
the  peo- 
to  legislate  o" 
■••'Y  as  well  a 
xn  admini; 
ie  people  of  Kan^ 

worth 


I  The 

cieclaratior  cleverb 

might  be  per 


BRODERICK  157 


it  did.  It  approved  "the  vigor  and  efficiency"  of  the 
national  administration  "in  adjusting  difficulties  with 
Great  Britain,"  "in  the  prompt  and  successful  redress 
of  wrongs  inflicted  on  us  by  the  government  of 
Paraguay,"  "in  the  decisive  suppression  of  the  rebellion 
in  Utah,"  and  in  various  other  matters,  but  no  mention 
was  made  of  its  policy  with  regard  to  Kansas.  A 
general  resolution  on  that  subject  declared  that  terri- 
tories while  "not  endowed  with  all  the  attributes  of 
sovereignty,"  were  yet  "justly  entitled  to  the  rights 
of  self  government  and  the  undisturbed  regulation  of 
their  domestic  and  local  affairs,  subject  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States;  that  any  attempt  by 
congress,  or  any  of  the  states,  to  establish  or  maintain, 
prohibit  or  abolish,  the  relation  of  master  and  slave 
in  a  territory,  would  be  a  departure  from  the  original 
doctrines  of  our  American  institutions;  and  that  we 
adhere  immovably  to  the  principle  of  non-intervention 
by  congress  with  slavery  in  the  states  and  territories, 
as  declared  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  and  openly 
disclaim  fellowship  with  those,  whether  at  the  south, 
the  north,  or  the  west,  who  counsel  abandonment,  limi- 
tation, or  avoidance  of  that  principle."  There  was 
not  a  word  or  line  in  the  resolution  that  would  not 
have  been  unanimously  endorsed  by  the  whole  anti- 
Lecompton  party  including  Douglas  himself. 

The  impression  that  the  republican  and  the  anti- 
Lecompton  parties  would  yet  coalesce  remained,  even 
after  the  conventions  were  held,  and  grew  stronger  as 
the  campaign  advanced.  Sibley,  one  of  the  republican 
nominees  for  congress  withdrew  in  favor  of  Baker  and 
McKibben,   and   Booker  one  of  the  anti-Lecompton 


158  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

nominees  also  retired.  The  republican  candidates  for 
state  printer  and  school  superintendent  also  withdrew. 
A  strong  appeal  to  Stanford  to  retire  in  favor  of  Currey 
was  also  made,  but  he  declined  to  yield. 

Soon  after  the  convention  adjourned  the  brilliant 
Baker  threw  himself  into  the  canvass  with  his  accus- 
tomed vigor,  and  other  republican  speakers  joined  him. 
Gwin  also  began  a  tour  of  the  state,  as  the  leading 
champion  of  the  Lecompton  doctrine.  Currey  chal- 
lenged Latham  to  a  series  of  joint  debates  to  be  held 
in  the  principal  towns,  and  the  challenge  was  accepted. 
This  added  interest  to  the  campaign,  which  had  already 
promised  to  be  interesting  enough,  but  nothing  like 
that  which  was  awakened  when  it  was  announced  that 
Broderick  himself  would  enter  the  lists.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  had  acquitted  himself  with 
credit  in  the  senate  there  were  many,  perhaps  a  majority 
of  people  in  California,  who  did  not  believe  him  capable 
of  discussing  matters  of  importance  intelligibly  in 
public.  He  had  been  regarded  as  a  mere  manipulator 
in  politics — a  successful  one,  it  was  admitted — but 
nothing  more.  It  had  been  reported  and  generally 
believed  that  his  speeches  in  the  senate  had  been  written 
for  him  by  his  friend  George  Wilkes,  and  his  enemies 
hoped,  while  his  friends  feared,  that  he  would  make  a 
pitiable  failure.  Many  knew  of  his  passionate  temper; 
they  knew  also  about  his  grievances,  and  a  display 
of  passionate  impatience  that  could  do  his  cause  no 
good  and  might  possibly  bring  it  into  contempt,  was 
anticipated  by  many. 

But  Broderick  was  to  show,  as  he  had  already  shown 
in  the  senate,  that  an  earnest  man  with  a  message  to 


BRODERICK  159 


deliver  may  speak  not  only  forcefully  but  perspicuously. 
No  one  doubted  that  he  would  speak  courageously,  and 
people  crowded  to  hear  him  wherever  he  was  to  speak. 

Before  he  began  his  canvass  an  incident  occurred 
that  might  have  warned  him  of  what  was  to  follow,  even 
if  there  had  been  no  foreboding  of  it.  Judge  David  S. 
Terry  had  sought  renomination  by  the  Lecompton 
convention  for  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  but  had 
been  defeated.  He,  however,  addressed  the  convention 
and  in  his  speech  referred  to  the  anti-Lecompton  party 
as  "a  miserable  remnant  of  a  faction,  sailing  under 
false  colors,  trying  to  obtain  votes  under  false  pretenses. 
*  *  *  They  are  the  personal  followers  of  one  man,  the 
personal  chattels  of  a  single  individual  whom  they 
are  ashamed  of.  They  belong  heart  and  soul,  body 
and  breeches,  to  David  C.  Broderick.  They  are  yet 
ashamed  to  acknowledge  their  master,  and  are  calling 
themselves,  forsooth,  Douglas  democrats.  *  *  *  Per- 
haps they  do  sail  under  the  flag  of  Douglas,  but  it 
is  the  banner  of  the  black  Douglas  whose  name  is 
Frederick  not  Stephen." 

The  speech  irritated  Broderick,  who  had  sought  to 
befriend  Terry  when  he  was  held  prisoner  by  the  vigi- 
lance committee,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  had  given  him 
no  cause  to  attack  him.  Soon  after  reading  it  he  was 
at  breakfast  in  the  International  hotel  in  San  Francisco, 
and  said  to  his  friend,  A.  A.  Selover,  who  with  his 
wife  and  another  lady  were  at  the  same  table,  that 
"the  miserable  wretch,  after  being  kicked  out  of  the 
convention"  had  made  a  speech  abusing  him.  "I  have 
hitherto  spoken  of  him  as  an  honest  man,"  he  said, 


160  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

"as  the  only  honest  man  on  the  bench  of  a  miserably 
corrupt  court,  but  I  now  find  I  was  mistaken.  I  take 
it  all  back.     He  is  just  as  bad  as  the  others." 

Also  at  the  same  table,  or  within  hearing,  was  D.  W. 
Perley,  a  lawyer,  then  of  or  recently  from  Stockton, 
who  was  Terry's  friend.  He  asked  Broderick  whom 
he  referred  to  as  a  wretch  and  Broderick  replied: 
"Terry."  "I  will  inform  the  judge  of  the  language 
you  have  used  concerning  him,"  said  Perley.  "  Do  so," 
retorted  Broderick,  "I  wish  you  to  do  so.  I  am  respon- 
sible for  it."  To  this  Perley  replied  that  he  would  not 
dare  to  use  such  language  in  the  judge's  presence,  or 
something  to  the  same  effect,  which  Broderick  answered 
only  with  a  sneering  "would  not  dare?"  This  Perley 
resented  by  saying  hotly,  "No,  you  would  not  dare. 
You  know  you  would  not  dare  do  it;  and  you  shall  not 
use  it  to  me  concerning  him.  I  shall  hold  you  person- 
ally responsible  for  the  language  of  insult  and  menace 
you  have  used."* 

This  incident  occurred  on  the  morning  of  June  26th, 
only  a  day  or  two  after  the  Lecompton  convention  had 
adjourned.  On  the  27th  Perley  challenged  Broderick, 
and  on  the  29th  Broderick  declined  on  the  ground  that 
Perley  had  only  a  few  days  previously  made  oath 
that  he  was  a  subject  of  Great  Britain,  and  his  political 
rights  could  not  be  affected  by  sending  or  accepting  a 
challenge.  "If  compelled  to  accept  a  challenge,"  his 
reply  continued,  "it  could  only  be  with  a  gentleman 
holding  a  position  equally  elevated  and  responsible; 
and  there  are  no  circumstances  which  could  induce  me 
to  do  this  during  the  pendency  of  the  present  campaign. 

*0'Meara,  Broderick  and  Gwin,  p.  220. 


BRODERICK  161 


*  *  *  If  I  were  to  accept  your  challenge,  there  are 
probably  many  other  gentlemen  who  would  seek  simi- 
lar opportunities  for  hostile  meetings,  for  the  purpose 
of  accomplishing  a  political  object,  or  to  obtain  public 
notoriety.  I  cannot  afford,  at  the  present  time,  to 
descend  to  a  violation  of  the  constitution  and  the  state 
laws  to  subserve  either  their  or  your  purposes." 

Broderick  could  afford  to  decline  this  meeting  with- 
out danger  of  any  imputation  of  cowardice,  since  his 
courage  had  proven  in  his  duel  with  Smith  in  1852,  in 
which  his  life  had  been  saved  by  his  watch.  In  declin- 
ing he  could  take  opportunity,  as  he  did,  to  serve  notice 
that  he  would  accept  no  other  challenges  until  the 
campaign  was  over,  while  at  the  same  time  leaving  it 
to  be  understood  that  he  would  not  neglect  matters  of 
that  kind  when  that  time  should  arrive. 

In  his  earlier  speeches  Broderick  appears  to  have 
confined  himself  largely  to  the  issues  of  the  campaign 
in  which  the  people  were  the  most  deeply  interested — 
the  Kansas  question — and  the  attitude  of  the  admin- 
istration and  the  various  parties  toward  it.  Personal- 
ities were  avoided,  or  at  least  if  they  were  not  they 
were  so  mild  in  kind  as  to  cause  little  comment;  but  as 
the  campaign  advanced  more  and  more  vehement  lan- 
guage was  used.  While  Broderick  and  Gwin  had  both 
been  elected  as  democrats  they  were  now  political 
opponents,  each  at  the  head  of  his  party  in  the  state, 
and  naturally  each  was  the  chief  object  of  attack  by 
the  other.  In  his  second  speech  Gwin  assailed  his 
rival  in  no  measured  language.  Broderick  ridiculed 
Gwin's  long  written  speeches,  which,  he  said  he  gener- 
ally read  to  empty  benches  in  the  senate,  only  himself 


162  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

and  one  other  senator  remaining  to  listen.  He  charged 
him  with  being  more  concerned  for  the  interests  of  the 
south  than  for  those  of  CaUfornia  in  his  boasted  cham- 
pionship of  the  Pacific  Railroad  bill,  because  he  per- 
sistently adhered  to  the  southern  in  preference  to  the 
central  and  more  direct  route.  For  the  same  reason 
he  had  caused  the  mails  to  be  sent  by  the  southern 
stage  line,  although  admitting  that  they  might  be  sent 
more  quickly  and  more  cheaply  by  way  of  Salt  Lake. 
He  held  him  responsible  for  what  he  ultimately  came 
to  refer  to  as  the  "Lime  Point  Swindle,"  and  for  secur- 
ing unduly  large  appropriations  for  the  Pacific  Mail 
Company's  contract  with  the  post  ofhce  department. 
Some  part  of  the  history  of  the  senatorial  contest  in 
which  both  Gwin  and  himself  had  been  elected  was 
told,  but  the  most  interesting  thing  about  it,  the  story 
of  the  midnight  meeting  in  the  Magnolia  hotel,  was 
studiously  and  for  a  considerable  time  withheld. 

Gwin  on  his  part  reproached  Broderick  for  not 
obeying  the  instructions  of  the  legislature  in  regard  to 
Kansas,  declaring  that  he  had  been  very  properly  read 
out  of  his  party  in  consequence.  He  early  resorted  to 
ridicule,  sneering  contemptuously  at  Broderick's  at- 
tacks, and  at  his  conduct  in  the  Perley  matter.  He 
appears  to  have  assumed  from  the  denial  Broderick 
had  earlier  made  of  any  arrangement  with  him  in 
regard  to  the  distribution  of  patronage,  that  he  would 
not  venture  to  make  public  the  letter  he  had  given  him, 
and  so  grew  bolder  and  more  and  more  irritating  in 
every  speech. 

Broderick,  too,  began  to  throw  prudence  to  the  winds. 
At  Sacramento  on  August  9th  he  was  met  at  the  levee 


BRODERICK  163 


by  an  immense  crowd,  composed  mostly  of  his  friends, 
and  in  the  evening  faced  one  of  the  largest  audiences 
that  until  then  had  ever  assembled  in  that  city.  He 
began  his  speech  by  saying:  "  I  come  tonight  to  arraign 
before  you  two  great  criminals — Milton  S.  Latham 
and  William  M.  Gwin" — and  then  proceeded  to  enu- 
merate the  crimes  of  each.  These  were  not  of  an 
infamous  kind,  but  pertained  to  their  political  bar- 
gaining with  himself  and  others,  to  secure  the  four  year 
term  in  the  senate  which  Gwin  had  finally  gained. 
To  prove  his  charges  he  read  letters  from  various  parties 
concerned,  but  made  no  reference  as  yet  to  the  Gwin 
letter. 

From  this  time  forward  until  the  campaign  ended  on 
September  yth,  the  charges  and  counter  charges  became 
more  and  more  vindictive  and  vehement.  Broderick 
traveled  through  the  northern  counties,  speaking  in 
most  of  the  larger  towns.  He  frequently  referred  to 
Gwin  as  "dripping  with  corruption";  Gwin  retorting 
in  kind.  Finally  at  Santa  Rosa  Broderick  told  the 
whole  story  of  Gwin's  midnight  visit  to  his  room  at 
Sacramento,  concealed  no  part  of  his  own  share  in  the 
miserable  business,  and  explaining  why  he  had  hitherto 
sought  to  conceal  it.  "I  had  then,"  he  said,  "my 
commission  as  United  States  senator  in  my  pocket, 
when  old  Gwin  came  begging  at  my  feet  for  favor 
and  help.  I  remembered  all  that  he  had  said  and 
done  against  me;  and  before  I  would  have  refrained 
from  any  opportunity  to  humiliate  him,  I  would  have 
torn  my  credentials  into  pieces  and  thrown  them  into 
the  fire." 


164  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Then  he  produced  the  letter*  which  Gwin  had  given 
him,  and  which  he  said  he  beUeved  had  led  to  the  death 
of  W.  I.  Ferguson.  Having  read  it  he  continued:  "Do 
you  believe  it  was  for  nothing  that  Ferguson's  desk  in 
the  senate  chamber  was  broken  open  immediately  after 
his  death?  On  his  deathbed  Ferguson  told  General 
Estill  where  he  could  find  the  letter.  A  curse  has 
followed  that  letter,  and  I  now  give  it  to  the  public 
that  the  curse  may  return  to  its  author,  that  its  disgrace 
and  shame  may  burn  the  brand  upon  his  forehead 
even  as  plainly  as  the  scarlet  letter  burned  upon  the 
breast  of  Hester  Prynne!  Let  Dr.  Gwin  or  any  of  his 
set  deny  its  authority  and  I  will  prove  that  he  wrote 
it,  letter  for  letter,  column  for  column." 

From  that  day  forth  this  document,  famous  in  the 
history  of  the  politics  of  California  was  always  spoken 
of  as  "  the  scarlet  letter." 

To  this  Gwin  replied  at  Yreka :  "  Broderick's  remarks 
about  the  senatorial  election  are  a  tissue  of  falsehoods 
from  beginning  to  end.     The  main  portion  of  his  state- 

*  Sacramento  City,  January  nth,  1857. 

Hon.  D.  C.  Broderick:  Dear  Sir:  I  am  likely  to  be  the  victim  of  the  unparalleled 
treachery  of  those  who  have  been  placed  in  power  by  my  aid  and  exertion.  The 
most  potential  portion  of  the  Federal  patronage  is  in  the  hands  of  those  who,  by 
every  principle  that  should  govern  men  of  honor,  should  be  my  supporters  instead 
of  enemies,  and  it  is  being  used  for  my  destruction.  My  participation  in  the 
distribution  of  this  patronage  has  been  the  source  of  numberless  slanders  upon  me, 
that  have  fostered  a  prejudice  in  the  public  mind  against  me,  and  have  created 
enmities  that  have  been  destructive  to  my  happiness  and  peace  of  mind  for  years. 
It  has  entailed  untold  evils  upon  me,  and  while  in  the  senate  I  will  not  recommend 
a  single  individual  to  appointment  to  office  in  the  state.  Provided  I  am  elected, 
you  shall  have  the  exclusive  control  of  this  patronage,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned; 
and  in  its  distribution  I  shall  ask  that  it  may  be  used  with  magnanimity,  and  not 
for  the  advantage  of  those  who  have  been  our  mutual  enemies,  and  unwearied  in 
their  exertions  to  destroy  us.  This  determination  is  unalterable;  and  in  making 
this  declaration  I  do  not  expect  you  to  support  me  for  that  reason,  or  in  any  way 
to  be  governed  by  it;  but  as  I  have  been  betrayed  by  those  who  should  have  been 
my  friends,  I  am  in  a  measure  powerless  myself  and  depend  upon  your  magnanimity. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Wm.  M.  Gwin. 


BRODERICK  165 


ment  about  Latham  is  false.  Latham  was  a  victim  of 
Broderick's  villainy  in  that  contest.  Under  garb  of 
friendship,  he  concerted  a  conspiracy  against  me  that 
is  without  a  parallel  in  this  or  any  other  state.  He 
deceived  me,  and  then  tried  to  ruin  me;  but  I  turned 
upon  him  and  his  minions,  and  I  will  pursue  them  as 
long  as  I  live.  I  acknowledge  with  shame,  that  for  a 
time  I  was  deceived  by  him,  and  I  am  willing  to  atone 
with  sack  cloth  and  ashes.  *  *  *  He  challenged  me  to 
this  discussion.  We  will  see  if  he  will  challenge  me 
again  to  meet  him,  after  what  I  have  said  tonight." 

The  election  resulted  in  the  overwhelming  defeat  of 
the  anti-Lecompton  and  republican  tickets,  Latham 
being  elected  by  62,255  votes  over  31,298  for  Currey 
and  10,110  for  Stanford. 

That  Broderick  expected  to  be  called  to  account  by 
one  or  more  of  those  who  had  opposed  him  in  the  cam- 
paign is  clearly  indicated  in  many  ways — by  the  letter 
to  Perley,  by  statements  in  several  of  his  speeches,  and 
by  the  last  words  uttered  in  his  dying  hour.  He  had 
been  continually  warned  by  friends  as  well  as  by  the 
newspapers  which  approved  or  opposed  his  course. 
"We  speak  the  convictions  which  have  been  forced 
upon  the  minds  of  all  men  who  have  read  the  speeches 
of  Broderick  and  Gwin,"  said  a  friendly  journal,  "that 
a  bloody  termination  of  this  controversy  is  expected 
by  the  friends  of  both  senators,  and  that  it  is  one  for 
which  both  are  prepared.  Commencing  with  Gwin's 
second  speech  in  the  canvass,  there  has  been  a  pointed 
avowal  of  his  readiness  to  settle  their  private  griefs 
in  a  private  manner,  coupled  with  sneers,  insults,  and 
personal  aifronts  on  every  occasion  on  which  the  elder 


166  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

senator  has  alluded  particularly  to  his  younger  rival. 
The  organs  on  that  side  do  not  disguise  the  wish  to  force 
Broderick  into  a  private  encounter.  We  have  had 
dissertations  on  the  code,  on  the  characteristics  of 
chivalry,  on  what  constitutes  an  affront,  on  how  far 
personal  responsibilities  may  or  may  not  be  evaded. 
These  imputations  upon  the  personal  courage  and  honor 
of  Broderick  have  been  carried  on  since  the  Perley 
affair,  and  seem  fully  to  corroborate  his  view  of  that 
matter,  and  that  it  was  arranged  by  his  enemies  to 
provoke  a  hostile  collision."* 

With  the  admonitions  of  friends  or  the  warnings  of 
enemies  constantly  sounded  in  his  ears,  or  thrust  before 
his  view  wherever  he  turned,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that 
Broderick  was  fully  aware  of  what  was  in  store  for  him. 
But  he  could  hardly  have  expected  the  first  challenge 
to  come  from  the  direction  it  did.  If  he  had  given 
offense  to  any,  certainly  Gwin  and  Latham,  whom  he 
had  openly  denounced  before  large  audiences,  had  a 
right  to  claim  reparation  before  Terry  of  whom  he  had 
spoken  only  to  the  limited  company  at  a  breakfast  table. 

But  Terry  was  first  to  prefer  his  claim.  On  the  day 
after  the  election  he  resigned  his  place  on  the  supreme 
bench  and  went  to  Oakland,  where  on  the  same  day,  he 
opened  the  correspondence  which  ended  two  days  later, 
with  a  formal  challenge  and  its  acceptance.!  The 
letter,  though  brief,  set  forth  the  language  complained 
of,  and  by  comparing  it  with  that  which  had  provoked 
it,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  had  been 
uttered,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  it  could  have 

*San  Francisco  "National"  quoted  by  Bancroft,  Vol.  VI,  p.  723. 
tFor  the  letters  in  full,  see  Appendix  this  volume. 


BRODERICK  167 

given  offense.  Nevertheless,  Terry  demanded  a  retrac- 
tion, or  satisfaction,  and  his  second  was  urgent  that 
one  or  the  other  be  given  at  once. 

O'Meara,  whose  book,  "Broderick  and  Gwin,"  is 
relied  on  as  giving  an  authoritative  account  of  this 
duel,  would  make  it  appear  that  Terry  would  gladly 
have  assented  to  any  honorable  arrangement  by  which 
a  hostile  meeting  could  have  been  avoided,  and  that 
Broderick  and  his  seconds  really  forced  things  to  a 
bloody  issue.  But  O'Meara  is  too  evidently  a  partisan 
of  Gwin  and  Terry,  and  the  record  does  not  sustain  him. 
Broderick's  language  was  no  more  offensive  than  Terry 
had  himself  used,  and  as  Terry  had  spoken  first  he  was 
the  aggressor.  He  had  fairly  provoked  the  remark  he 
complained  of,  and  could  hardly  expect  that  Broderick 
would  let  it  pass  without  retort  of  some  kind.  It  may 
be  true,  as  O'Meara  claims,  that  A.  P.  Crittenden, 
Edmund  Randolph,  John  A.  Monroe,  John  Nugent, 
and  other  friends  of  both  parties  endeavored  to  prevail 
on  Broderick  to  consent  to  a  peaceable  settlement,  but 
Terry  can  hardly  have  been  responsible  for  their  action. 
He  says  they  were  denied  admission  to  Broderick  by 
friends  who  were  keeping  him  in  hiding  to  prevent 
arrest;  but  if  so  no  proof  has  ever  been  offered  that 
they  were  the  bearers  of  a  conciliatory  message,  or  any 
message  from  Terry.  Broderick  was  not  the  aggressor, 
and  so  far  as  Terry  was  concerned  had  not  been  at  any 
point  in  the  controversy.  He  had  been  challenged  and 
had  accepted.  He  could  make  no  conciliatory  offer; 
such  an  advance  could  come  only  from  the  opposing 
party;  and  it  did  not  come. 


168  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  challenge  was  accepted  on  Saturday,  September 
loth,  and  the  meeting  arranged  for  the  morning  of 
Monday  the  I2th.  It  was  to  take  place  on  the  farm 
near  the  Lake  house  at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Merced, 
which  is  southwest  of  San  Francisco,  and  not  far  from 
the  ocean.  The  weapons  were  to  be  dueling  pistols, 
the  principals  to  be  placed  ten  paces  apart,  facing 
each  other,  and  to  fire  between  the  words  "Fire-one- 
two,"  neither  to  fire  before  the  first  nor  after  the  last 
word  was  pronounced.  Each  was  to  be  accompanied 
by  two  seconds,  a  surgeon  and  a  person  to  load  the 
pistols. 

Although  all  these  arrangements  had  been  made  with 
the  usual  secrecy,  the  principals  with  their  seconds  had 
scarcely  reached  the  place  of  meeting  on  Monday 
morning,  when  an  ofiicer  appeared  with  warrants  for 
their  arrest.  Later  in  the  day  they  appeared  with 
counsel  before  Judge  Henry  P.  Coon.  The  prosecuting 
attorney,  at  whose  instance  apparently  the  warrants 
had  been  issued,  asked  that  they  be  required  to  give 
bonds  to  keep  the  peace;  but  this  the  court  refused, 
and  arrangements  were  later  made  by  the  seconds,  for 
another  meeting  on  the  following  morning  at  the  same 
place  and  time. 

That  a  duel  would  occur  was  now  generally  known; 
that  it  would  be  a  fight  to  the  death  everyone  expected. 
The  newspapers  discussed  the  probable  result  without 
evidence  of  excitement,  but  made  no  suggestion  that 
the  meeting  should  be  again  interrupted.  The  public 
awaited  news  from  the  field  with  anxious  interest,  but 
no  considerable  number  of  the  friends  or  enemies  of 
the  parties,  or  even  of  the  merely  curious,  interfered 


BRODERICK  169 


with  what  was  to  be  done.  About  eighty  persons  in  all, 
including  the  drivers  of  carriages,  were  on  the  ground. 

The  principals  together  with  their  seconds,  surgeons, 
and  armorers  were  on  the  ground  early  on  Tuesday 
morning  the  13th.  Terry  was  attended  by  Colonel 
Thomas  Hayes  and  Calhoun  Benham  as  his  seconds, 
and  Dr.  William  Hammond,  surgeon;  Broderick's 
seconds  were  Colonel  Joseph  C.  McKibben  and  David 
D.  Colton,  ex-sheriff  of  Siskiyou  county,  while  his  sur- 
geon was  Dr.  Ferdinand  Loehr,  who  was  also  editor  of 
a  German  anti-Lecompton  newspaper  in  San  Francisco. 

Two  pairs  of  dueling  pistols  had  been  provided;  one 
belonging  to  Joseph  R.  Beard,  but  at  the  time  in  the 
keeping  of  Dr.  Daniel  Aylette  of  Stockton,  was  of 
French  make,  had  been  used  in  several  duels,  and  was 
now  produced  by  Terry's  seconds;  Broderick's  seconds 
also  produced  a  pair. 

While  the  seconds  were  measuring  the  ground  and 
making  the  other  preliminary  arrangements,  the  con- 
duct and  appearance  of  the  two  principals  were  carefully 
noted  by  all  present.  Neither  showed  any  sign  of 
nervous  excitement  or  anxiety,  though  Terry  was  appar- 
ently the  more  composed,  standing  quietly  with  his 
surgeon,  while  Broderick  paced  up  and  down  near  his 
friends.  Dr.  Loehr  following  and  carrying  or  half  drag- 
ging a  sack  of  surgical  instruments,  from  which  a  saw 
protruded  suggestively — conduct  that  would  have  dis- 
concerted some  men — though  Broderick  showed  no 
annoyance.  As  the  morning  was  bleak  and  chilly, 
both  wore  their  overcoats,  but  when  these  were  laid 
aside  both  appeared  in  Prince  Albert  coats,   closely 


170  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

buttoned,  with  soft  felt  hats,  Broderick's  drawn  well 
down  over  his  eyes,  while  Terry's  was  worn  well  back 
with  the  brim  turned  up. 

Broderick's  seconds  won  choice  of  position  and  placed 
him  with  his  back  to  the  sun  which  at  the  moment 
was  just  beginning  to  show  above  the  San  Bruno  hills; 
Terry's  won  choice  of  weapons  and  of  course  took  the 
French  pistols.  This  it  was  subsequently  claimed  gave 
him  no  small  advantage,  since  they  were  of  peculiar 
shape,  not  easily  fitted  to  the  hand  of  one  not  accus- 
tomed to  them;  and  Broderick  had  never  seen  them 
before  while  Terry  had  practised  with  them.  These, 
after  they  had  been  examined  by  the  seconds,  were 
loaded  in  their  presence,  the  one  Broderick  was  to  use 
by  "Natchez,"  the  gunsmith,  and  Terry's  by  his  friend 
Sam  H.  Brooks.  Then  Mr.  Benham  examined  Broder- 
ick's person  to  see  that  he  wore  nothing  likely  to  stop 
or  deflect  a  bullet,  and  Colonel  McKibben  similarly 
examined  Judge  Terry.  Both  had  previously  handed 
their  watches,  money,  etc.,  to  their  seconds. 

The  word  was  now  exemplified  as  it  would  be  given, 
and  then  both  were  asked  if  they  were  ready.  Judge 
Terry  answered  promptly,  but  Broderick  apparently 
finding  some  difficulty  in  adjusting  the  peculiar  pistol  to 
his  hand,  hesitated  slightly  and  then  he  also  answered, 
"ready." 

Mr.  Colton  began  to  give  the  word  "  Fire-one- two," 
but  between  the  word  "fire"  and  "one"  Broderick's 
weapon  was  discharged,  the  ball  striking  the  ground 
only  nine  feet  in  front  of  him.  The  adjustment  of 
the  trigger  had  been  so  delicate  that  the  weapon  was 
discharged  while  he  was  elevating  it.     He  was  now 


BRODERICK  171 


disarmed,  nevertheless  he  stood  as  firmly  and  calmly  as 
before,  awaiting  the  bullet  of  his  adversary.  It  came 
before  the  word  "two"  was  pronounced,  striking  him 
in  the  right  breast.  Convulsively  his  right  arm — the 
hand  still  grasping  the  pistol — was  raised  nearly  in  line 
with  his  shoulder,  extended  nearly  full  length  and  then 
fell  by  his  side.  Then  his  head  dropped  to  his  breast, 
and  sinking  first  on  his  left  knee,  he  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  surgeon  and  his  seconds  hastened  to  his  assistance, 
and  it  was  soon  seen  that  the  duel  was  over. 

Terry  had  meantime  stood  in  his  place,  watching  his 
opponent.  To  Mr.  Benham,  who  had  stepped  to 
his  side,  he  remarked  that  he  had  "hit  too  far  out," 
indicating  that  he  thought  the  wound  was  not  a  serious 
one,  and  that  another  shot  might  be  demanded.  But 
this  was  soon  seen  to  be  impossible.  Broderick's  wound 
was  mortal. 

He  was  removed  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  Leonidas 
Haskell,  near  Black  Point,  where  the  ablest  surgeons 
of  the  time  attended  him,  but  it  was  not  possible  to 
save  his  life.  Terry's  bullet  had  entered  a  vital  part 
and  at  9:20  on  Friday  morning  he  passed  from  earth. 

Lagoarde,  or  "Natchez"  the  gunsmith,  testified  at 
the  inquest  that  there  was  a  perceptible  difference  in 
the  adjustment  of  the  pistols;  that  which  Terry's  sec- 
onds had  left  for  Broderick  being  the  more  delicate, 
and  that  he  had  called  the  attention  of  Colonel  Mc- 
Kibben  and  Mr.  Colton  to  this  fact  on  the  field;  but 
this  they  later  denied.  The  fact  that  he  had  made  such  a 
statement,  however,  gave  rise  to  much  unfavorable 
comment,  not  yet  worn  away,  that  the  choice  of  pistols 
on  that  fatal  morning  really  decided  the  battle. 


172  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Possibly  some  suspicion  of  this  kind  in  Broderick's 
own  mind  prompted  his  dying  remark  to  Colonel  Baker: 
"They  have  killed  me  because  I  was  opposed  to  a  cor- 
rupt administration  and  the  extension  of  slavery," 
though  the  remark  would  indicate  that  he  did  not  hold 
Terry  alone  responsible  for  his  death.  He  must  have 
realized,  and  doubtless  did  realize  that  if  he  had  escaped 
Terry's  bullet  he  would  have  to  face  still  others.  It 
can  hardly  be  possible  that  Gwin  would  have  failed  to 
call  him  to  account  for  his  stinging  charges  and  denun- 
ciations, if  Terry  had  found  sufficient  cause  for  a  chal- 
lenge in  the  comparatively  mild  remark  he  had  made 
about  him;  and  if  he  had  survived  an  encounter  with 
Gwin  there  would  have  been  still  others  to  be  settled 
with.  He  was  in  fact  an  early,  if  not  the  earliest 
victim  of  that  "irrepressible  conflict"  which  was  at  the 
time  just  beginning. 

His  funeral  was,  and  will  long  continue  to  be 
memorable  in  San  Francisco.  It  was  held  on  the 
Sunday  following  his  death.  A  platform  had  been 
erected  in  Portsmouth  Square  on  which  the  body  was 
placed,  and  from  which  Colonel  Baker  pronounced  the 
funeral  oration.  An  immense  multitude  attended  and 
followed  the  remains  to  their  last  resting  place  in  Laurel 
Hill  cemetery,  where  the  state  subsequently  erected  a 
fitting  monument  to  the  man  its  legislature  had  once 
censured. 

Broderick's  death  was  as  genuinely  lamented  in  the 
east  and  north  as  in  California.  His  conduct  in  the 
senate  during  the  two  short  years  he  had  served  there 
had  won  the  admiration  of  all  the  opponents  of  slavery 
extension,  and  wrung  compliments  even  from  those  who 


EDWARD  DICKINSON  BAKER 
Born  at  London,  England,  February  24,  181 1;  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Ball's  Bluff  (Virginia),  October  21.  1861;  came  to 
California  in  1853.  Baker  was  member  of  congress  from 
Illinois  in  1845-46;  colonel  of  Fourth  Illinois  infantrj'  in 
Mexican  war.  In  1859  Baker  went  to  Oregon  where  he 
was  elected  United  States  senator  in  i860.  On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  War  Colonel  Baker  declining  an  appoint- 
ment as  brigadier-general  of  volunteers  tendered  him  May 
17,  1861,  organized,  by  special  authority  from  the  war  office, 
a  regiment  of  returned  Californians,  living  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  and  became  its  colonel  June  22,  1861.  The 
regiment  was  known  as  the  "Californians"  but  was  officially 
registered  as  the  71st  Pennsylvania.  On  the  2ist  of  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  he  was  appointed  major-general  of  volunteers 
but  had  not  accepted  when  he  was  killed  thirty  days  later. 
At  Ball's  Bluff,  Baker,  in  command  of  1900  men,  was  defeated, 
losing  47  per  cent,  of  his  force. 


172 


TORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


:.:..,-.  ^f  ^his  kind  in  Broderick's 

remark  to  Colonel  Baker: 

.  opposed  to  a  cor- 

n   of   slavery," 

-lid  not  hold 

must  have 

escaped 

can   hadJlB  balM  ;Ji8-I  ,^iS'HBrjliS?4  ,'• 


Possibly  some  s 
own  mind  promntc 
'^ They  have  k^ 
rupt  admi? 
though  '■' 
Terr- 
real 
Ter '  ■•;  -I  A 


4  *  chal 

t&^/eia^uaitMi  renriM^  /to^zik^tl  maas 
Pewter  with 

'iho  earliest 
us  at  the 

i^  on  the 
.ad  beci 

"SHi^^'tiody  was 

d  the 

-d 


fitting  mo 


led  a 
had  once 

.  ..lented  in  the 

conduct  in  the 

ing  the  two  short  ae  had  served  there 

;  of  all  the  < 
and  wrung  coi     ' '         ^~ 


BRODERICK  173 


favored  it.  He  had  proved  himself  a  man  of  ability 
and  courage,  true  to  his  cause,  an  unfailing  friend  and 
an  honorable  enemy;  and  though  lacking  something  in 
the  nicer  qualities  which  distinguish  men  of  cultivation, 
he  was  withal  a  man  whom  those  who  possessed  those 
qualities  were  glad  to  count  their  friend;  and  long  after 
his  death  there  were  men  in  the  highest  positions  of 
official  life  who  remembered  with  pride  that  they  had 
been  associated  with  Broderick. 

A  few  sentences  from  the  matchless  funeral  oration 
pronounced  above  his  bier  can  best  describe  the  man 
as  he  really  was :  "Temperate,  decorous,  self-restrained, 
he  had  passed  through  all  the  excitement  of  California 
unstained.  No  man  could  charge  him  with  broken 
faith  or  violated  trust;  of  habits  simple  and  inexpensive, 
he  had  no  lust  of  gain.  He  overreached  no  man's 
weakness  in  a  bargain,  and  withheld  from  no  man  his 
just  dues.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  state,  has  there 
been  a  citizen  who  has  borne  public  relations  more 
stainless  in  all  respects  that  he.  *  *  *  He  was  honest, 
faithful,  earnest,  sincere,  generous,  and  brave;  he  felt 
in  all  the  great  crises  of  his  life  that  he  was  a  leader  in 
the  ranks;  that  it  was  his  high  duty  to  uphold  the  inter- 
ests of  the  masses;  that  he  could  not  falter.  When  he 
returned  from  that  fatal  field,  while  the  dark  wing  of 
the  Archangel  of  Death  was  casting  its  shadow  upon 
his  brow,  his  greatest  anxiety  was  as  to  the  performance 
of  his  duty.  He  felt  that  all  his  strength  and  all  his 
life  belonged  to  the  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted  them. 
*  *  *  He  was  the  last  of  his  race;  there  was  no  kindred 
hand  to  smooth  his  couch  or  wipe  the  death  damp  from 
his  brow;  but  around  that  dying  bed  strong  men,  the 


174  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

friends  of  his  early  manhood,  the  devoted  adherents  of 
his  later  life,  bowed  in  irrepressible  grief,  'and  lifted  up 
their  voices  and  wept.'" 


CHAPTER  IV. 
CIVIL  WAR  TIMES 


I 


FEW  people  in  California  felt  more  than  a 
general  interest  in  the  slavery  question  during 
the  campaign  of  1859,  or  gave  more  than  a 
passing  thought  to  the  inevitable  end  to  which 
the  discussion  of  it  was  leading.  Broderick  and  Baker, 
and  speakers  of  lesser  note  had  pointed  out  the  dangers 
of  the  situation;  but  the  bitter  personalities  of  the 
campaign,  the  fierce  invective  and  scathing  denuncia- 
tion with  which  the  leaders  had  assailed  each  other, 
diverted  attention  from,  or  dulled  the  general  interest 
in  the  great  issue  which  in  other  states  was  almost 
the  only  subject  of  interest. 

But  the  shooting  of  Broderick  turned  public  attention 
more  sharply  to  the  perils  of  the  time.  In  the  solemnity 
of  his  dying  hour  he  had  declared  that  he  had  been 
killed  because  of  his  opposition  to  the  extension  of 
slavery.  Baker  in  his  famous  funeral  oration,  which 
had  been  widely  published  and  generally  read,  had 
spoken  of  his  death  as  "a  political  necessity,  poorly 
veiled  under  the  guise  of  a  personal  quarrel."  Many 
newspapers  charged  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  con- 
spiracy formed  to  remove  from  the  state  and  senate  a 
vigorous  and  uncompromising  opponent  of  the  slave 
power.  Thousands  read  these  statements,  and  thought 
more  soberly  than  they  had  been  accustomed  to  think 
of  what  this  new  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  might 
mean,  that  was  again  threatening  to  break  up  the  union, 
had  already  Involved  Kansas  in  a  bloody  war,  led  to 
a  murderous  attack  upon  one  opposing  senator  at  his 
desk  In  Washington  and  to  the  killing  of  another  on 
the  shore  of  the  Pacific.  Possibly  it  might  mean  that 
the  union  was  in  danger,  or,  as  had  been  declared  in 


178  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

an  often  quoted  speech  made  by  a  then  obscure  states- 
man in  Illinois  scarcely  more  than  a  year  earlier,  that 
the  agitation  was  to  be  pushed  on  until  slavery  "shall 
become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  states,  old  as  well  as  new, 
north  as  well  as  south."* 

Evidence  that  the  slave  power  was  not  content  to 
allow  California  to  remain  a  free  state  was  not  lacking, 
although  it  had  not  hitherto  caused  much  comment. 
In  1852  a  resolution  had  been  offered  in  the  assembly 
proposing  to  allow  fifty  southern  families  to  migrate  to 
the  state  with  their  slaves,  but  it  was  not  adopted. 
A  considerable  number  of  slaves  had  been  brought 
to  the  state  by  their  masters  from  time  to  time,  and 
employed  by  them  in  the  mines.  One  of  these  had 
attracted  much  attention  by  an  effort  to  gain  his 
freedom  by  legal  process,  and  his  case  had  called  forth 
an  opinion  by  Judge  Burnett,  humorously  commented 
upon  at  the  time  as  "giving  the  law  to  the  north  and 
the  nigger  to  the  south."  In  1856  an  attempt  was 
made  to  seize  two  negro  families  consisting  of  fourteen 
persons  who  had  somehow  found  their  way  into  San 
Bernardino  county,  and  return  them  to  slavery,  but  it 
had  not  been  successful.  No  general  protest  had  been 
made  against  these  violations  of  the  constitution,  but  as 
the  slavery  agitation  increased  they  were  remembered 
as  showing  how  insidiously  and  persistently  the  pro- 
slavery  advocates  were  working  to  accomplish  their 
ends. 

Preparations  for  the  presidential  campaign  began 
early  in  i860.  The  committees  of  all  the  parties  met 
in  January  and  arranged  to  name  their  delegates  to 

'Speech  of  Abraham  Lincoln  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  June  17,  i860. 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  179 

the  national  conventions  in  February.  Many  efforts 
to  reunite  the  Lecompton  and  anti-Lecompton  factions 
were  made  but  all  were  futile.  The  difference  between 
them  was  irreconcilable,  and  the  ill  feeling  engendered 
in  the  recent  campaign  made  any  sort  of  cooperation 
impossible.  There  was,  as  was  well  known,  almost  an 
equal  lack  of  harmony  in  the  older  states.  Prospects 
for  party  success  were  therefore  not  encouraging,  and 
the  anti-Lecomptonites  resolved  to  send  no  delegates 
to  the  national  gathering  at  Charleston,  but  urged  their 
compatriots  in  all  the  counties  to  cherish  the  principles 
for  which  they  stood,  and  "sustain  them  at  all  times, 
and  under  all  circumstances  as  their  wisdom  may 
suggest."  Some  of  these  took  part  in  the  primaries  for 
the  Lecompton  convention,  but  when  the  delegates 
chosen  gathered  at  Sacramento  in  February  they  formed 
a  most  inharmonious  assemblage.  Comparatively  few 
anti-Lecompton  delegates  had  been  elected,  but  the 
confusion  could  hardly  have  been  greater  had  they  been 
as  numerous  as  the  Lecomptonites.  After  a  stormy 
session  lasting  through  a  whole  day,  a  chairman 
was  chosen  during  the  evening  and  an  organization 
completed.  On  the  following  day  a  platform  was 
adopted  declaring  the  decision  recently  pronounced  in 
the  Dred  Scott  case*  to  be  "the  true  construction  of  the 
law  of  the  land";  that  any  intervention  of  federal  power 
in  controlling  the  policy  of  the  territories  "is  highly 

*Dred  Scott,  a  negro,  had  been  taken  by  his  master,  an  army  officer,  to  Rock 
Island  in  Illinois  and  later  to  Fort  Snelling  in  Minnesota,  where  he  had  been  kept 
for  some  time  as  a  slave.  Later,  after  his  return  to  Missouri,  he  began  suit  in  the 
courts  of  that  state,  claiming  his  freedom  on  the  ground  of  long  residence  in  free 
territory.  The  case  finally  went  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  where 
it  was  twice  argued  and  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  because  of  the  political 
question  involved.     It  was  finally  decided  against  Scott  by  a  divided  court. 


180  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

impolitic  and  subversive  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  government,  except  in  cases  of  unlawful  resistance 
to  the  laws  and  the  mandates  of  courts,"  and  that 
"while  we  deprecate  all  efforts  at  disunion,  we  are 
prepared  to  maintain  the  independence  of  California." 
It  also  declared  Daniel  S.  Dickinson  to  be  its  first 
choice  for  president,  and  named  Austin  E.  Smith, 
G.  W.  Patrick,  Newell  Gregory,  John  S.  Dudley,  L.  R. 
Bradley,  John  Raines,  John  A.  Dreibelbiss,  and  John 
Bidwell  as  delegates. 

The  republican  convention  sent  F.  P.  Tracy,  Leland 
Stanford,  A.  A.  Sargent,  D.  J.  Staples,  and  D.  W. 
Cheesman  as  delegates  to  the  convention  at  Chicago, 
which  later  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln. 

News  of  the  disruption  of  the  Charleston  convention 
was  received  in  due  time,  and  the  results  of  the  meeting 
of  the  two  factions  to  be  held  later  at  Baltimore  and 
Richmond  was  awaited  with  some  anxiety.  Meantime 
news  came  of  the  nomination  of  Lincoln  at  Chicago, 
and  caused  no  little  disappointment  among  republicans 
to  whom  he  was  as  yet  but  little  known.  Still  later 
the  candidacy  of  John  Bell  of  Tennessee,  who  had  been 
put  forward  by  a  faction  calling  itself  the  Constitutional 
Union  party,  was  announced,  and  on  July  15th,  it  was 
learned  that  all  efforts  to  harmonize  the  warring  factions 
of  the  democracy  had  proved  futile;  that  separate 
conventions  had  been  held  at  Richmond  and  Baltimore, 
the  former  naming  Breckenridge  and  the  latter  Douglas 
as  their  candidates.* 


*The  California  delegates  acted  with  the  radical  southern  element  at  Charles- 
ton and  joined  with  it  at  Richmond  in  nominating  Breckenridge. 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  181 

This  news  created  great  excitement  in  California  as 
it  did  elsewhere.  It  was  believed  by  many  that  the 
division  of  the  part}^  meant  that  the  southern  members 
were  determined  to  carry  out  their  oft  repeated  threat 
to  break  up  the  union  if  a  republican  president  should 
be  elected,  and  strongly  suspected  that  they  had  divided 
their  own  party  to  make  such  a  result  possible  if  not 
inevitable.  While  the  issue  made  was  nominally  the 
old  one  as  to  slavery  in  the  territories,  the  real  issue 
was  felt  to  be  union  or  disunion. 

It  was  evident  from  the  beginning  that  the  campaign 
would  be  a  spirited  and  exciting  one.  The  leaders  of 
the  two  democratic  factions  early  issued  long  addresses 
designed  to  show  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  where 
their  allegiance  as  true  partisans  was  due.  That  favor- 
ing the  Breckenridge  ticket  was  signed  with  sixty-five 
names,  twenty-two  of  which  were  those  of  federal  office 
holders  and  eight  or  nine  of  government  contractors; 
while  that  of  the  Douglas  faction  bore  one  hundred  and 
fifty  names,  that  of  Governor  Downey  leading,  and 
followed  by  those  of  many  who  had  been  Broderick's 
staunchest  supporters,  among  them  J.  P.  Hoge,  W.  M. 
Lent,  John  Parrott,  R.  P.  Hammond,  James  T.  Ryan, 
H.  W.  Halleck,  J.  A.  McDougall,  James  Denman, 
Frederick  Billings,  Eugene  Casserly,  P.  B.  Cornwall, 
Alvinza  Hayward,  and  Myron  Norton.  Neither  fac- 
tion could  show  an  indisputable  claim  to  be  the  real 
simon  pure  democracy.  Neither  Breckenridge  nor 
Douglas  had  received  the  votes  of  two-thirds  of  the 
delegates  in  the  convention,  as  required  by  immemorial 
democratic  usage,  and  therefore  neither  could  claim  to 
be  the   "regular"   nominee.     But   it  was   insisted   in 


182  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

behalf  of  Breckenridge  that  he  stood  by  the  principles 
enunciated  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  a  faithful  adherence 
to  which  was  essential  to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the 
union.  On  the  part  of  Douglas  it  was  declared  that 
the  break  from  the  convention  at  Charleston  meant 
disunion,  and  that  the  main  object  of  those  who  had 
led  it  was  to  destroy  the  government.  "To  this,"  they 
said,  "the  true  men  of  the  south  and  north,  the  east  and 
west  will  object.  They  will  not  only  object — they  will 
resist.  They  will  do  more  than  this — they  will  over- 
whelm the  disunionists.  *  *  *  We  call  upon  the  democ- 
racy everywhere,  and  upon  all  true  union-loving  patriots 
to  join  us  in  giving  them  one  effective  and  final  blow, 
by  placing  at  the  head  of  this  nation  the  true  repre- 
sentative of  the  national  and  union-loving  democracy."* 
It  was  soon  known  that  senators  Gwin  and  Latham 
would  support  Breckenridge — indeed,  it  was  inevitable 
from  the  first  that  they  would  do  so,  as  they  had  long 
been  leaders  in  the  "Chivalry"  element.  Latham  sent 
home  and  had  published  a  long  letter  giving  his  reasons 
for  pursuing  the  course  he  had  chosen.  His  party  had 
always  boasted  with  pride  and  exultation,  he  said,_of 
its  adherence  to  principle;  and  looking  back  upon  a  long 
series  of  triumphs  won  by  its  adherents,  he  was  not  dis- 
posed to  mar  that  record  by  "a  beggarly  and  miserable 
scramble  over  party  machinery  or  regularity,  irrespective 
of  principle."  He  supported  Breckenridge  because  he 
agreed  with  him  and  those  who  nominated  him,  and  he 
opposed  Douglas  because  he  did  not  agree  with  him. 
Ex-Governor  Weller  also  declared  for  Breckenridge,  al- 
though by  this  time  he  exerted  very  little  influence. 

•Davis,  Political  Conventions  in  California,  p.  115. 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  183 

Governor  Downey  early  declared  for  Douglas.  In 
August  General  Denver  published  a  letter  in  which  he 
characterized  the  Breckenridge  party  as  a  faction 
"striving  to  divide  the  democratic  party,  and  finally 
to  dissolve  the  union." 

The  republicans  soon  recovered  from  their  disap- 
pointment over  the  failure  of  Seward,  who  had  been 
their  favorite,  to  secure  the  nomination.  Although 
they  had  cast  less  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  vote  in  the 
state  election  held  only  a  few  months  earlier,  they  now 
saw  or  thought  they  saw  in  the  division  of  their  oppo- 
nents, made  sharper  and  clearer  as  it  had  been  by  the 
killing  of  Broderick,  a  chance  to  carry  the  state,  and 
they  went  about  the  work  of  the  campaign  with  enthu- 
siasm and  hope.  They  had  lost  their  most  effective 
orator  since  the  campaign  of  the  preceding  year. 
Colonel  Baker  who  had  been  their  candidate  for  con- 
gress and  been  defeated,  had  been  enticed  away  to 
Oregon,  but  his  loss  was  in  some  degree  compensated 
for  by  the  appearance  of  an  unheralded  but  equally  elo- 
quent speaker,  a  young  Unitarian  minister.  Reverend 
Thomas  Starr  King,  who  arrived  in  April  and  later 
toured  the  state,  giving  lectures  on  patriotic  subjects, 
but  always  declaring  for  the  union  and  the  republican 
candidates  as  the  surest  guaranty  for  its  preservation. 

The  campaign  of  i860  was  as  notable  for  its  badges 
and  banners,  its  marching  clubs  and  torchlight  proces- 
sions, as  that  of  1840  had  been  for  its  daylight  parades 
and  rallies,  its  coon  skins  and  log  cabins.  Every  voter, 
and  every  son  of  a  voter  who  was  old  enough  to  take 
interest  in  such  things  wore  a  badge  with  the  image  and 
superscription  of  his  candidate,  or  something  equally 


184  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

indicative,  or  carried  a  torch  in  the  parades  of  Wide 
Awakes,  Ever  Readys,  Douglas  Guards,  or  Invincibles. 
Campaign  literature  was  also  distributed  in  great  quan- 
tity by  all  parties,  Mr.  Lincoln's  Cooper  Union  speech 
figuring  largely  in  that  distributed  by  the  republicans, 
while  speeches  by  Douglas  and  Breckenridge  made  on 
various  occasions  were  sent  broadcast  by  their  partisans. 
There  was  no  lack  of  speakers  in  any  party,  and  most 
eloquent  among  these  was  James  A.  McDougall  who 
was  soon  to  succeed  Gwin  in  the  senate,  and  others 
were  Governor  Downey,  John  Nugent,  J.  R.  McConnell 
and  J.  W.  McCorkle  for  Douglas,  Thomas  Fitch,  Frank 
M.  Pixley,  Nathan  Porter,  Leland  Stanford,  and  A.  A. 
Sargent  for  Lincoln,  and  Senators  Gwin  and  Latham, 
Ex-Governor  Weller,  B.  F.  Washington,  and  Frank 
Tilford  for  Breckenridge. 

From  the  beginning  the  orators  of  the  Breckenridge 
party  made  much  of  the  dangers  of  disunion  that  would 
follow  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and  as  the  campaign 
advanced,  more  and  more  openly  excused  and  defended 
those  who  were  threatening  it.  Near  the  close  of  the 
campaign  Governor  Weller  openly  declared  at  San  Jose 
that  the  south  would  surely  withdraw  from  the  union 
in  the  event  of  Lincoln's  election,  and  that  he  "  should 
consider  them  less  than  men  if  they  did  not." 

The  Douglas  party  undoubtedly  suffered  something 
from  this  open  advocacy  of,  and  apology  for  disunion 
on  the  part  of  their  old  party  associates.  They  still 
avowed  allegiance  to  the  same  party  and  devotion  to 
its  principles,  and  many  doubtless  did  not  readily  dis- 
tinguish between  a  democracy  that  threatened,  in  a 
certain  contingency,  to  destroy  the  government,  and 


THOiMAS  STARR  KING 
Born  at  New  York,  December  l6,  1824;  died  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, March  4,  1864;  came  to  California  in  i860  as  minister 
of  the  First  Unitarian  Church  of  San  Francisco.  Starr  King, 
as  he  was  usually  called,  had  come  to  California  for  rest  and 
for  health  but  there  was  to  be  neither  rest  nor  health  for 
him.  California  was  a  seething  cauldron  of  politics.  War 
was  at  hand  and  party  feeling  ran  high.  King  threw  himself 
into  the  conflict  with  all  his  soul  and  his  speeches  for  the  Union 
swayed  the  multitudes.  From  the  roof  of  his  church  the 
national  flag  was  kept  flying  and  his  voice  encouraged  the 
people  whom  his  eloquence  fascinated.  Small  in  stature, 
delicate  in  health,  gentle  of  disposition,  yet  when  roused, 
a  lion  whom  nothing  daunted.  But  his  strength  was  unequal 
to  the  demands  he  made  upon  it  and  he  died  of  diphtheria  in 
the  spring  of  1864.  His  memory  is  tenderly  regarded  in 
California. 


li  the  parr  Wide 

^"^-      '-     -     invm.  ■'  ' 

:  treat  <^ 

jR  speet',; 
Hg  republicans, 


'/.IXitilA.'l 


<i  oiht 


inland  A.  A. 

.rnrri 

(HnAByd  Lathai 


,**jri^j  campaign 


overni 


n 


I 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  185 

that  which  promised  to  preserve  it.  The  union  senti- 
ment was  strong  in  California  as  in  any  other  northern 
state,  and  was  only  waiting  to  be  fully  aroused  to  stur- 
dily assert  itself.  Many  still  hoped  as  many  were 
hoping  in  other  states,  that  the  troublesome  slavery 
agitation  would  be  compromised  or  adjusted  in  some 
way,  as  it  had  been  accommodated  heretofore.  They 
were  anxious  to  do  what  they  might  by  their  votes  to 
bring  about  such  an  arrangement.  They  did  not  favor 
abolition;  many  of  them  despised  abolitionists,  and  they 
did  not  like  to  be  classed  with  "Black  Republicans"; 
but  if  force  was  to  be  resorted  to  they  would  stand  for 
the  union  without  being  particular  as  to  who  stood 
with  them. 

Neither  party  had  in  its  ranks  a  man  with  Broderick's 
skill  as  an  organizer,  to  marshall  its  forces,  direct  its 
efforts  toward  the  localities  where  they  would  be  most 
effective,  anticipate  the  work  of  the  opposition  or 
counteract  it,  prevent  unfair  advantage  being  taken  in 
neglected  precincts,  and  above  all  to  awaken  negligent 
voters,  who  are  too  busy  with  their  private  affairs  to  at- 
tend to  public  duties,  to  a  sense  of  their  responsibilities. 
This  class  is  always  large  and  steadily  growing  larger; 
and  in  this  fact  lies  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  of 
popular  government.  The  idle,  the  ignorant,  and  citi- 
zens to  whom  the  privileges  of  citizenship  are  new, 
rarely  fail  to  attend  the  polls  when  opportunity  to  vote 
is  offered;  busy  people,  those  who  have  most  at  stake, 
and  who  ought  to  be  most  interested  in  the  quality  of 
government  they  have,  are  frequently  if  not  almost 
always  negligent.  The  result  is  seen  everywhere  in 
increasing  taxation,  still  more  rapidly  increasing  debt, 


186  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

lavish  expenditures,  reckless  legislation,  and  an  alarm- 
ing diminution  of  respect  for  government.  It  is  seen 
also  in  the  fact  that  the  appeals  of  aspiring  place  hunters 
are  directed  more  and  more  toward  those  who  exercise 
their  privileges  with  least  intelligence,  and  pay  but  a 
diminishing  respect  to  those  who  could  be  moved  only 
by  reason.  Minorities  rather  than  majorities  rule;  the 
demagogue  is  exalted,  the  inventor  of  new  political 
dogmas  encouraged;  business  is  hampered  by  con- 
fused legislation,  honest  toilers  are  interrupted  in  their 
employment,  savings  are  dissipated  by  idleness  for  which 
there  is  no  cause,  but  from  which  there  seems  to  be  no 
escape,  and  anarchy  seems  at  times  to  be  not  far  off. 

The  methods  of  Broderick  as  a  political  manager 
have  often  been  censured  and  derided,  and  to  some 
extent  justly,  though  his  faults  were  the  faults  of  his 
time  and  partly  of  the  present  time.  But  his  methods 
were  not  all  faulty;  those  which  were  so  would  have 
served  him  to  little  purpose  had  those  who  complained 
of  him  attended  to  their  duties  as  citizens  as  their  own 
best  interest  required,  or  could  they  have  been  induced 
to  do  so.  A  popular  dramatist  has  made  Richelieu 
say  that  he  had  "wrought  great  uses  out  of  humble 
tools,"  and  it  was  so  with  Broderick — is  so  with  every 
political  manager,  be  he  honest  or  otherwise,  for  it  is 
with  such  tools  he  is  left  to  work — to  use  them  unre- 
sisted either  for  good  or  evil  as  he  may  elect,  while 
those  who  might  easily  counteract  their  efforts  by  per- 
forming their  simple  duty  as  voters,  fail  to  do  so  until 
evils  have  been  long  endured  and  further  endurance 
made  almost  impossible. 

Very  late   in   the   campaign   the   republicans  were 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  187 

greatly  helped  by  a  single  speech  made  by  Colonel 
Baker  while  on  his  way  to  Washington  to  take  his  seat 
in  the  senate.     He  had  gone  to  Oregon  in  February,  at 
the  invitation  of  some  influential  citizens  of  that  newly 
jib    admitted  state,  to  take  part  in  the  campaign  of  that 
year,  and  was  so  successful  that  when  the  legislature 
met  in  September  he  was  elected  senator,  defeating  a 
candidate  championed  by  Ex-Governor  Joseph  Lane, 
who  had  for  several  years  represented  the  territory  as 
its  delegate  in  congress  and  later  the  state  as  senator, 
and  who  was  now  the  candidate  for  vice-president  on 
the  Breckenridge  ticket.     Baker  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco on  October  19th  and  was  welcomed  by  a  salute 
of  one  hundred  guns  as  his  ship  entered  the  harbor. 
An  immense  company  of  his  old  friends,  acquaintances, 
and  admirers  waited  to  greet  him  at  the  wharf  and 
escort  him  in  triumph  to  his  hotel.     It  was  immediately 
arranged  that  he  should  speak  on  the  evening  of  the 
26th  in  the  American  Theatre,  which  then  stood  on 
ground  now  covered  by  the  Halleck  block  at  the  north- 
easterly corner  of  Sansome  and  Halleck  streets.    Ardent  t 
republicans  came  from  far  and  near,  from  San  Jose, 
Stockton,  Sacramento,  and  even  Marysville,  to  attend. 
The  Wide  Awake  clubs  paraded,  cannon  were  fired, 
bands  filled  the  air  with  music,  and  the  great  theatre, 
said  to  hold  fully  four  thousand,  was  filled  from  pit  to 
dome,  many  standing  in  the  aisles  and  along  the  walls  ^ 
in  the  galleries.     The  speaker  was  at  his  best,  and  his 
speech  was  long  after  regarded  as  the  most  eloquent 
that  had  ever  been  delivered   in   California.      Some 
passages  in  it  were  particularly  admired,  notably  an 
apostrophe  to  freedom,  and  an  impassioned  declaration 


188  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

that :  "  Even  under  the  shadow  of  the  throne  of  Russia ; 
on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  where  the  ashes  of  the  first 
Napoleon  repose;  where  the  British  Queen  in  majestic 
dignity  presides  over  a  nation  of  freemen — everywhere 
abroad,  the  great  ideas  of  personal  liberty  spread, 
increase,  fructify.  Here,  ours  is  the  exception!  In 
this  home  of  the  exile,  in  this  land  of  constitutional 
liberty,  it  is  left  for  us  to  teach  the  world  that  slavery 
marches  in  solemn  procession;  that  under  the  American 
stars  slavery  is  protected,  and  the  name  of  freedom 
must  be  faintly  breathed,  the  songs  of  freedom  be 
faintly  sung!  Garibaldi,  Victor  Emanuel,  hosts  of  good 
men  are  praying,  fighting,  dying  on  battle-fields,  for 
freedom;  and  yet  while  this  great  procession  moves 
under  the  arches  of  liberty,  we  alone  shrink  back 
trembling  and  afraid  when  freedom  is  but  mentioned!" 

This  speech  was  published  and  widely  circulated 
during  the  eleven  days  remaining  before  election. 
Meantime  news  that  the  republican  state  tickets  had 
been  successful  at  the  October  elections  in  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  and  Indiana  was  received,  and  added  much  to 
the  hopes  and  expectations  of  republicans  in  California. 
The  vote  was  taken  on  November  6th,  and  when  the 
last  returns  were  received  from  far  away  precincts  in 
Del  Norte  and  Siskiyou  on  the  north  and  San  Diego 
on  the  south,  it  was  found  that  Lincoln  had  carried  the 
state  by  a  plurality  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-six 
votes — counting  the  lowest  vote  for  a  Lincoln  and  the 
highest  vote  for  a  Douglas  elector. 

There  had  been  a  wonderful  change  in  public  senti- 
ment in  the  fourteen  months  since  the  balloting  at  the 
close   of   the   fierce   contest   between   the   Gwin   and 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  189 

Broderick  factions  in  1859.  Of  the  62,255  votes  then 
given  to  Latham  the  Lecompton  candidate,  only  33,970 
were  now  given  to  Breckenridge,  the  candidate  of  the 
same  faction;  the  Douglas  electors  had  received 
38,023  votes,  a  gain  of  6,725  over  the  vote  for  Currey, 
the  candidate  of  the  anti-Lecomptonites,  while  Lincoln 
had  received  38,699  against  the  10,110  cast  for  Stanford. 
It  was  evident  that  a  large  part  of  the  Chivalry  or 
Lecompton  party  was  not  in  favor  of  disunion,  and  this 
was  amply  proven  later.  It  may  be  that  some  of  the 
extremists  who  afterwards  went  south  and  fought  on 
the  confederate  side,  voted  for  Lincoln  as  was  charged 
at  the  time,  in  order  to  give  opportunity  to  make  good 
their  often  made  threat  to  break  up  the  union  in  the 
event  of  the  election  of  a  republican  president;  but 
the  majority  of  the  Lecomptonites  who  changed  evi- 
dently voted  for  the  undoubted  union  candidate, 
rather  than  for  Douglas  whom  they  disliked  for  having 
disrupted  their  party,  and  whose  loyalty  they  may  have 
suspected  because  of  his  former  associations. 

By  the  time  the  votes  had  been  counted  in  California 
it  was  known  that  Lincoln  had  been  elected.  News 
that  the  southern  states  were  preparing  to  carry  out 
their  threat  to  leave  the  union  soon  followed.  South 
Carolina  seceded  in  December;  Mississippi,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Florida,  and  Louisiana  followed  in  January, 
and  their  senators  and  representatives  withdrew  from 
congress.  Forts,  arsenals,  and  other  government  prop- 
erty in  the  seceding  states  were  seized,  and  Major 
Anderson  was  besieged  in  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston 
harbor.  Judges  and  other  officers  of  the  federal  courts 
in  the  seceded  states  resigned,  and  a  confederate  con- 


190  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

gress  was  summoned  to  meet  at  Montgomery,  Alabama. 
On  the  other  hand  the  legislatures  of  various  northern 
states  expressed  their  determination  to  defend  and  pre- 
serve the  union,  and  public  meetings  were  held  in  many 
cities  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted  urging  the 
most  abject  surrender.*  Many  influential  newspapers 
including  the  New  York  "Tribune,"  advised  that  "our 
erring  sisters,"  be  allowed  to  go  in  peace,  while  some 
others  more  openly  approved  their  action;  and  there 
was  much  else  to  indicate  that  what  Bishop  Butler  had 
spoken  of  as  "the  possible  insanity  of  states"  was 
something  more  than  possible. 

Congress  spent  much  time  during  the  short  session 
of  1 860- 1  in  formulating  and  discussing  measures  of 
compromise,  and  finally  adopted  and  submitted  for  the 
approval  of  the  states,  an  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion, declaring  that  congress  should  never  have  power 
to  abolish  or  interfere  with  slavery  in  any  state  where  it 
then  existed.  This,  had  it  been  accepted  and  adopted, 
would  have  held  the  place  now  held  by  the  thirteenth 
amendment  of  today,  which  makes  slavery  forever 
impossible  in  any  state. 

In  all  the  confusion  and  excitement  one  great  figure 
only  remained  calm.  He  was  the  newly  elected  presi- 
dent, at  the  moment  powerless  but  soon  to  be  invested 
with  vast  powers.  He,  of  all  the  statesmen  of  the  time, 
saw  clearly  the  policy  that  must  be  pursued,  in  case 
those  threatening  rebellion  persisted  in  their  purpose; 
but  though  frequently  and  urgently  pressed  to  make 
some  statement  that  would  help  to  relieve  the  tension, 
he  refused  to  do  so,  believing  "it  would  do  no  good  and 

•Horace  Greeley,  The  American  Conflict,  Vol.  /,  p.  362. 


I 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  191 

might  do  harm."*  He  had  many  times  declared  that 
he  had  no  purpose  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  states, 
and  believed  he  had  no  power  to  do  so.  It  could  do  no 
good  to  repeat  this  declaration,  for,  as  he  said  to  a  friend 
"if  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets  neither  will 
they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 

In  due  time  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  and  what 
followed  it  is  unnecessary  even  to  recapitulate  here. 
The  plan  which  he  had  formed  in  those  months  of 
silence  following  his  election,  and  declared  so  unosten- 
tatiously in  his  inaugural  address,  was  steadily  followed. 
It  was  first  of  all  important  to  save  to  the  union  the. 
border  states  and  the  Pacific  coast  states  where  there 
had  long  been  talk  of  a  Pacific  republic.  This  would 
be  difficult,  perhaps  even  impossible,  if  an  aggres- 
sive policy  were  adopted.  So  the  opposite  policy  as 
announced  in  the  inaugural  was  followed.  "In  your 
hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in 
mine  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  govern- 
ment will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict 
without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors." 

The  idea  of  a  Pacific  republic  had  been  conceived 
early,  and  appears  to  have  had  from  the  first,  a  more 
important  place  in  the  plans  of  those  who  were  plotting 
to  divide  the  union  than  many  have  supposed.  The 
possibility  of  such  a  thing  had  been  suggested  by  poli- 
ticians in  California  before  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion was  organized  in  1849.  Later  it  was  hinted  at 
from  time  to  time  by  members  of  the  Chivalry,  who 
always  charged  that  their  opponents  were  harboring 
some  design  of  that  kind,  though  there  was  never  any 

*Letter  to  N.  Paschal  of  the  Missouri  "Republican,"  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Vol.  III. 


192  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

evidence  that  they  had  even  thought  of  it.  General 
Volney  Howard,  in  his  report  to  Governor  Johnson  in 
1856,  declared  his  conviction  that  the  members  of  the 
Vigilance  Committee  were  aiming  "  at  nothing  less  than 
the  entire  overthrow  of  the  state  government,  secession 
from  the  union,  *  *  *  and  a  separate  government  on  the 
Pacific."  Judge  Terry  had  expressed  a  similar  belief 
in  his  letter  of  June  28th  to  Commander  Boutwell.* 
There  were  many  other  expressions  of  the  kind,  always 
made  by  the  same  parties;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  object  of  that  resolution  expressing  confidence 
in  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  state,  adopted  by  the  great  mass  meeting  on 
July  14th,  while  the  Vigilance  Committee  was  still  at 
work,  was  to  answer  such  charges  and  insinuations. 
After  the  campaign  of  1859,  in  which  some  effort  was 
made  to  cast  odium  on  the  Broderick  faction  as  cherish- 
ing some  intention  of  this  kind,  the  Chivalry  discon- 
tinued this  policy,  and  gradually  began,  more  or  less 
openly  themselves  to  recommend  an  entirely  separate 
government  for  the  Pacific  states,  in  case  the  union 
should  be  dissolved.  That  was  the  meaning  of  the 
resolution  adopted  by  the  Lecompton  convention  held 
at  Sacramento  in  April,  i860,  which  deprecated  all 
efi'orts  at  disunion,  but  declared  that  its  members  were 
"prepared  to  maintain  the  independence  of  California." 
A  week  earlier  Senator  Latham  had  told  the  senate 
that  a  separate  republic  would  be  organized  on  the 

*In  this  letter  Terry  said:  "The  government  of  the  state  has  already  made 
ineffectual  efforts  to  quell  the  rebellion  [i.  e.,  the  Vigilance  Committee],  and  the 
traitors  emboldened  by  success  have  already  hung  two  men,  and  banished  a  great 
many  others,  and  some  of  their  members  now  openly  threaten  to  seize  the  Forts 
and  Arsenals  of  the  United  States  as  well  as  the  ships  of  war  in  port  and  secede 
from  the  Federal  Union."     Commanders^  Letters  No.  ij,  Navy  Department  files. 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  193 

Pacific  in  the  event  of  a  separation  between  the  north 
and  south,*  and  Gwin  had  more  than  once,  though  not 
so  conspicuously,  made  a  similar  declaration. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  legislative  session  of  i860 
Governor  Weller — whose  influence  was  no  longer  great, 
though  he  undoubtedly  expressed  the  sentiments  of 
those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded — had  said  in  his 
message  that  "if  the  wild  spirit  of  fanaticism,  which 
now  pervades  the  land  should  destroy  this  magnificent 
confederacy — which  God  forbid — she  (California)  will 
not  go  with  the  south  or  the  north,  but  here  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  found  a  mighty  republic  which  may 
in  the  end  prove  the  greatest  of  all." 

After  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  decla- 
rations of  this  kind  were  far  more  frequently  and  openly 
made,  though  Latham,  for  some  reason  changed  his 
ground  and  took  occasion  to  tell  the  senate  that  his 
former  declaration  had  been  premature.  Both  mem- 
bers of  congress  from  this  state  were  in  hearty  accord 
with  the  secessionists,  and  both  wrote  home  recom- 
mending that  steps  be  taken  at  an  early  day  to  form  a 
confederacy  of  coast  states. f  Burch  looked  to  it  as 
certain  to  be  "a  prosperous,  happy  and  successful 
republic"  and  Scott  advised  it  as  a  means  of  self- 
preservation;  but  both  evidently  favored  it  largely  for 
the  reason  that  it  would  be  more  helpful  to  the  south 
than  the  north. 

The  first  business  of  the  legislature  of    1861   was 
to  elect  a  senator  to  succeed  Gwin  whose  term  was  to 

*Speech  of  April  i6,  x86o,  Congressional  Globe. 

tBurch's  letter  was  printed  in  the  San  Francisco  "Herald"  on  January  3d  and 
Scott's  on  the  i6th. 


194  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

expire  on  March  3d.  He  was  a  candidate  for  reelection, 
though  with  no  prospect  of  success,  for  the  Breckenridge 
faction  was  hopelessly  in  the  minority.  Weller  and 
John  Nugent  also  sought  support  from  the  same  faction, 
while  the  candidates  of  the  Douglas  party  were  James 
A.  McDougall,  Edmund  Randolph,  Henry  Edgerton, 
J.  W.  Denver,  and  Humphrey  Griffith.  McDougall 
was  nominated  in  caucus  and  the  republicans  chose 
Timothy  Guy  Phelps.  Twenty-two  ballots  were  taken 
in  joint  convention  before  a  choice  was  made,  and  then 
McDougall  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  only  one  vote. 

During  the  contest  a  quarrel  arose  between  Daniel 
Showalter,  an  assemblyman  from  Mariposa  county,  and 
Charles  W.  Piercy  of  San  Bernardino  which  resulted 
in  a  duel,  Piercy  being  the  challenging  party.  The 
meeting  took  place  in  Marin  county  about  three  miles 
west  of  San  Rafael  on  the  afternoon  of  May  25th. 
The  weapons  were  rifles  at  forty  yards.  At  the  first 
fire  neither  party  was  hit  and  Showalter  demanded  a 
second  in  which  Piercy  was  killed.  This  was  the  last 
of  the  political  duels  in  California,  and  as  in  all  others 
the  pro-slavery  man  was  victorious. 

A  large  part  of  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1861, 
which  was  a  long  one,  was  devoted  to  the  consideration 
of  various  resolutions  designed  to  express  the  sentiments 
of  its  members,  and  through  them  those  of  the  people  of 
the  state  with  regard  to  the  pending  trouble.  The 
first  of  these  was  proposed  in  the  senate  on  January  i8th 
and  the  last  on  May  24th.  With  the  various  amend- 
ments, substitutes,  and  changes  made  by  committees, 
there  were  thirty-two  of  these  declarations  in  various 
forms  proposed  and  considered.     Most  of  them  declared 


JOHN  F.  MERRILL 
Born  at  Hollowell,  Maine,  March  2,  1841;  died  September 
29,  1912;  came  to  California  in  1864.  He  had  been 
in  business  in  Boston  before  coming  to  California,  and  he 
entered  the  house  of  Lord,  Holbrook  and  Company  of  Sacra- 
mento, a  concern  founded  by  his  father,  Ambrose  Merrill, 
in  1850,  and  which  subsequently  became  the  well  known 
stove  and  metal  house  of  Holbrook,  Merrill,  and  Stetson,  of 
San  Francisco.  In  1869  Mr.  Merrill  became  a  partner  in 
the  concern  and  remained  actively  connected  with  its  manage- 
ment until  his  death.  He  was  also  largely  identified  with 
other  business  and  financial  enterprises. 


.ilh: 


amefa 

re  Jamc: 


nrorc  between  L 
^puntv 


i 

•r'    rn  il 


anaea 
the  la: 
Jl  othej 


ut  January  io 


■'Crcs  m. 
declara 


and  const 


a^ y/Z^fjeyz^z.^^^^^ 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  195 

for  the  union,  with  loyalty  varying  in  degree  from  the 
robust  and  unequivocal  kind,  to  that  which  would 
impose  conditions  that  made  it  very  doubtful;  several 
members  favored  the  plan  of  compromise  which  had 
been  proposed  by  Crittenden  of  Kentucky;  a  few 
urged  that  a  convention  of  the  states  be  called  to  amend 
the  constitution  or  provide  some  other  plan  of  settle- 
ment; five  were  very  favorable  to  the  seceding  states, 
and  three  condemned  all  proposals  and  suggestions  of 
a  Pacific  republic.  The  declaration  finally  adopted 
approved  the  Crittenden  plan  of  compromise,  and 
commended  the  patriotism  and  wisdom  "of  both 
Douglas  and  Breckenridge  in  supporting  it"  and  "for 
condemning  the  use  of  military  force,  under  the  existing 
circumstances,  to  coerce  the  southern  people,  recom- 
mending conciliation  and  concession  rather  than  war, 
and  compromise  rather  than  disunion." 

When  the  legislature  convened  the  Douglas  members 
had  a  working  majority  in  each  house,  but  they  were 
without  competent  leaders  and  therefore  failed  to  exert 
the  influence  their  numbers  should  have  given  them. 
They  were,  in  the  main,  heartily  loyal  to  the  union, 
but  not  yet  convinced  that  the  seceded  states  were 
determined  to  leave  it.  They  did  not  at  first  vote 
to  endorse  the  Crittenden  proposition,  though  there 
was  no  particular  difference  between  them  and  the 
Breckenridge  members  on  that  score;  but  enough  of 
them  voted  for  it,  when  amended  so  as  to  compliment 
both  Douglas  and  Breckenridge,  to  secure  its  adoption. 
Commenting  on  the  situation  the  Sacramento  "Union," 
on  February  28th  said:  "The  intention  of  the  Breck- 
enridge leaders  is,  if  possible,  to  place  themselves  and 


196  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

their  party  in  the  position  of  the  democratic  organi- 
zation of  the  state,  and  the  only  antagonist  of  the 
repubhcans.  They  are  determined  there  shall  be  but 
two  parties,  and  that  they  shall  lead  one  of  them." 

This  was  in  fact  true,  as  developments  fully  proved. 
Early  in  the  session  they  had  started  a  movement  to 
reunite  the  democratic  factions,  and  on  February  i8th 
a  caucus  had  been  held,  though  only  ten  Douglas 
members  attended.  Little  was  done,  however,  except 
to  request  the  two  state  committees  to  hold  a  special 
joint  meeting  at  an  early  day  to  devise  a  plan  for  har- 
mony and  reunion;  and  that  in  case  of  failure,  all  the 
democratic  members  of  the  legislature  should  formulate 
a  plan.  A  special  committee  was  appointed  to  solicit 
the  attendance  of  members  at  an  adjourned  meeting 
on  the  22d,  at  which  time  forty-four  were  got  together 
but  nothing  was  accomplished. 

News  of  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  reached  California 
by  the  pony  express  on  April  25th  and  created  as  much 
excitement  as  it  had  caused  in  other  states.  Political 
lines  were  quickly  and  sharply  redrawn.  The  sole  issue 
now  was  union  or  disunion,  and  most  people  found  no 
difficulty  in  defining  their  positions.  Members  of  the 
Douglas  party  were  almost  unanimously  on  the  union 
side,  and  many  from  the  Breckenridge  faction  joined 
with  them. 

The  chairman  of  the  Breckenridge  committee  had 
called  a  meeting  for  March  26th,  agreeable  to  the 
request  of  the  democratic  members  of  the  legislature, 
and  in  his  call  which  had  been  generally  published,  he 
had  made  such  pertinent  inquiries  as:  "If  peaceable 
dissolution  comes,  why  should  not  California  remain 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  197 

with  the  free  states?  If  a  bloody  separation,  why 
should  she  not  establish  a  Pacific  Nationality?"  The 
committee  met  in  San  Francisco  on  April  2d  and  in  its 
call  for  a  convention  to  nominate  a  state  ticket  had 
drawn  a  most  doleful  picture  of  the  prospect  for  civil 
war  which  it  declared  must  "finally  end  in  despotism, 
with  liberty  lost  forever."  So  far  at  least  the  policy 
of  that  faction  had  been  declared  before  the  news  from 
Sumter  was  received,  and  it  was  thenceforth  at  a 
disadvantage.  The  call  of  the  Douglas  committee  on 
the  other  hand  appealed  "to  the  whole  people  of 
California,  without  distinction  of  party  or  reference  to 
partisan  issues,  to  stand  with  us  by  our  country  and 
our  flag,  that  all  may  know  that  the  great  union 
democratic  party  of  California  is  the  overpowering 
majority  of  her  citizens." 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  inauguration  General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  in  command  on  the  coast, 
with  headquarters  on  Alcatraz  island.  He  was  a 
Kentuckian  by  birth,  had  resided  in  Texas  for  a  number 
of  years  and  had  been  colonel  of  the  second  regiment 
of  cavalry,  of  which  Robert  E.  Lee  was  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  George  H.  Thomas,  Earl  Van  Dorn,  and 
W.  J.  Hardee  majors — until  sent  to  command  the 
expedition  against  the  Mormons  in  1857.  The  Second 
was  then  the  most  popular  regiment  in  the  army,  and 
its  commander  would  perhaps  have  been  voted  its 
ablest  soldier,  although  Scott  is  said  to  have  preferred 
its  lieutenant-colonel  to  its  colonel,  to  be  his  own 
successor.  Johnston's  southern  birth,  however,  caused 
members  of  the  new  administration  to  distrust  him 
when  other  southern  born  officers  both  of  the  army  and 


198  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

navy  began  to  tender  their  resignations,  and  General 
E.  V.  Sumner  was  secretly  hurried  to  the  coast  to 
replace  him.  Sumner  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on 
April  24th,  only  a  few  hours  before  news  of  the  firing 
on  Fort  Sumter  was  received,  and  immediately  took 
command,  Johnston  turning  it  over  without  protest  or 
hesitation.  He  was  not  taken  by  surprise,  for  news  of 
the  intended  change  had  been  sent  him  by  the  pony 
express,  by  one  of  the  southern  employees  who  still 
held  his  place  in  the  war  department,  and  his  resignation 
had  been  already  forwarded.  He  immediately  took  his 
departure  for  Richmond,  going  overland  with  a  small 
escort  of  personal  friends  by  the  southern  route. 

While  there  was  perhaps  no  occasion  to  fear  that 
Johnston  would  turn  over  the  fortified  posts  and  other 
property  of  the  government  to  the  enemy,  as  Twiggs 
had  done  in  Texas,  the  loyal  people  of  California 
undoubtedly  felt  a  sense  of  relief  when  it  was  known 
that  a  man  of  undoubted  loyalty  had  succeeded  to  the 
command  on  the  coast.  Johnston  had  determined  to 
go  with  the  south,  and  would  have  gone  even  if  he  had 
not  been  so  hurriedly  relieved  from  command;  and 
while  he  might  never  have  openly  betrayed  the  cause 
he  had  served,  so  far  as  to  give  open  aid  or  encourage- 
ment to  its  enemies  before  he  was  relieved  of  command, 
nevertheless  while  he  remained  in  control  the  fact 
would  give  them  an  assurance  they  could  not  otherwise 
feel. 

The  natural  impulse  of  the  people  of  California  was 
to  be  loyal,  just  as  it  was  in  the  other  free  states.  It 
needed  something  like  the  attack  on  Sumter — a  con- 
vincing proof  that  actual  war  would  be  made  if  need 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  199 

be  to  break  up  the  government — to  arouse  them.  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  foreseen  this  and  therefore  had  resolved  to 
await  attack.  When  it  was  made,  most  people  ceased 
to  discuss  compromises,  and  made  haste  to  declare 
themselves  unreservedly  for  the  union.  In  San  Fran- 
cisco a  general  public  meeting  was  called  for  May  nth, 
to  make  a  show  of  strength  and  draw  the  line  sharply 
between  those  who  were  for  the  union  and  those  who 
were  against  it.  It  was  held  out  of  doors,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Market  and  Post  streets,  because  it  was  known 
in  advance  that  no  enclosed  place  in  the  city  would 
accommodate  those  who  would  attend.  Preparations 
for  it  were  made  by  decorating  the  principal  houses 
and  business  buildings  in  the  city  with  the  national 
colors,  while  flags  floated  from  many  windows  and  from 
all  the  ships  in  the  harbor.  Business  was  everywhere 
suspended  and  the  multitude  that  assembled  at  noon 
to  hear  the  speeches  was  the  largest  that  had  ever, 
up  to  that  time,  met  together  in  the  city.  Governor 
Downey  had  been  invited  to  preside,  but  unfortunately 
for  his  fame  he  did  not  accept.  Although  he  had  previ- 
ously declared  for  the  union  he  now  wrote  that  in  his 
view  the  only  means  of  preserving  it  lay  in  "honorable 
compromise  and  respect  for  the  constitutional  rights  of 
every  section."  *  *  *  He  "did  not  believe  that  war 
should  be  waged  upon  any  section  of  the  confederacy, 
nor  that  the  union  could  be  preserved  by  a  coercive 
policy."* 

This  was  sadly  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
meeting,  which  was  addressed  by  Senator  Latham — 
who  had  by  this  time  come  over  to  the  union  side — 

*Davis,  Political  Conventions  in  California,  p.  164. 


200  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

James  A.  McDougall,  Generals  Shields  and  Sumner; 
and  Reverend  Thomas  Starr  King,  whose  speech  was 
one  of  the  most  effective  of  the  many  he  had  already 
made  for  the  union  cause.  A  number  of  prominent 
citizens  whose  loyalty  had  been  in  doubt,  attended  the 
meeting  and  even  took  an  active  part  in  it.  The  resolu- 
tions adopted  expressed  the  devotion  of  the  people  of 
San  Francisco  to  the  union,  and  pledged  their  hearty 
support  to  the  administration.  There  was  now  no 
doubt  as  to  the  sentiment  of  San  Francisco,  and  the 
people  of  the  interior  towns  and  villages  soon  after 
expressed  themselves  with  similar  unanimity  and 
emphasis. 

The  Breckenridge  party  no  longer  defended  secession 
as  openly  as  they  had  been  doing,  although  many  of 
them  continued  to  criticise  and  even  to  denounce  the 
efforts  of  the  unionists  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  as 
unconstitutional  and  otherwise  objectionable,  though 
generally  in  language  more  guarded  than  they  had 
formerly  used.  In  January  a  new  flag,  purporting  to 
be  that  of  a  Pacific  republic  had  been  raised  on  a  sur- 
veying schooner  at  Stockton;  a  Palmetto  flag  was  shown 
in  San  Francisco  in  February,  and  the  Bear  flag  was 
later  displayed  at  Sonoma,  San  Bernardino,  and  Los 
Angeles;  but  such  general  and  earnest  protest  was  made 
in  each  case  that  the  experiment  was  not  repeated. 
In  San  Francisco  the  national  colors  had  been  floated 
from  many  of  the  church  steeples  before  the  meeting 
of  May  nth,  and  after  that  event  from  all  except  that 
of  Calvary  Presbyterian  church  on  Bush  street  below 
Montgomery.  The  pastor  of  this  church  was  Reverend 
William  A.  Scott,  who  had  come  to  California  early  in 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  201 

the  fifties  from  New  Orleans,  and  whose  sympathies 
were  naturally  with  the  south.  He  refused  to  raise  the 
flag,  and  had  offended  some  members  of  his  congrega- 
tion by  praying  each  Sunday  "for  all  presidents  and 
vice-presidents."  This  he  was,  however,  compelled  to 
abandon.  On  the  morning  of  Sunday  September  22d, 
he  found  a  very  large  flag  floating  over  his  church, 
while  from  a  pole  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  was 
hanging  an  effigy  labelled,  "Dr.  Scott,  the  reverend 
traitor."  The  street  was  filled  with  people  who  had 
been  drawn  thither  by  the  unusual  display,  but  no 
other  demonstration  was  made  before  or  during  the 
service.  The  police  removed  the  effigy,  but  the  flag 
remained.  Dr.  Scott  soon  after  resigned  and  went  south. 
People  elsewhere  along  the  coast  were  no  less 
intolerant  of  disloyalty.  When  Senator  Lane  of  Oregon 
who  had  been  the  candidate  for  vice-president  on  the 
Breckenridge  ticket,  returned  to  Portland  he  could 
hardly  find  an  expressman  to  haul  his  baggage  from 
the  steamer  to  his  home.  He  had  been  very  popular 
in  the  state,  having  served  it  with  distinction  as  terri- 
torial governor,  delegate  in  congress,  and  senator;  but 
his  earlier  services  were  permanently  overshadowed  by 
his  advocacy  of  secession  and  a  Pacific  republic.  About 
the  time  of  Lane's  return  a  young  Mississippian  named 
Stephen  Gillis,  afterwards  well  known  in  newspaper 
circles  in  San  Francisco,  and  Virginia  City,  started  a 
secession  paper  in  Portland,  but  he  published  but  one 
issue.  In  later  years  he  told  some  of  his  fellow  reporters 
that  "while  the  paper  did  not  live  long  there  was  a  time 
when  he  thought  it  might  outlast  him."* 

*C.  C.  Goodwin,  As  I  Remember  Them,  p.  go. 


202  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  state  conventions  of  the  three  parties  were  held 
in  June  and  early  in  July.  That  of  the  Bredcenridge 
party  met  first  and  sat  for  four  days,  most  of  the  time 
being  consumed  in  the  consideration  of  resolutions  that 
were  not  adopted.  The  platform  as  finally  agreed  upon 
opposed  the  use  of  force  against  the  seceded  states; 
favored  the  union  "upon  constitutional  guarantees  that 
would  be  acceptable  to  both  sections,"  and  the  recog- 
nition of  the  confederate  states  in  case  no  such  agree- 
ment could  be  made.  It  also  declared  President 
Lincoln  guilty  of  violating  the  constitution,  usurping 
power  in  borrowing  money  and  increasing  the  army 
and  navy  without  the  authority  of  congress.  .One 
delegate  declared  that  he  "deserved  impeachment  in 
hell,  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,"  and  the  sentiment  was 
received  with  applause.  Several  secession  speeches 
were  made,  the  most  remarkable  of  all  being  that  by 
Edmund  Randolph  who  had  formerly  been  one  of 
Broderick's  staunchest  supporters. 

John  R.  McConnell  was  nominated  for  governor, 
Jasper  O'Farrell  for  lieutenant-governor,  H.  P.  Barker 
and  D.  O.  Shattuck  for  members  of  congress,  and 
Samuel  H.  Brooks,  who  later  went  south  and  joined 
the  confederates,  for  controller. 

The  republican  convention  met  in  the  following  week 
and  declared  that  "the  union  of  all  states  must  be 
preserved,  the  federal  constitution  sustained,  and  the 
national  flag  respected  wherever  it  waves."  Leland 
Stanford  was  again  named  for  governor,  John  F.  Chellis 
for  lieutenant-governor,  Timothy  Guy  Phelps  and 
Aaron  A.  Sargent  for  congress,  and  Frank  M.  Pixley 
for  attorney-general. 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  203 

The  Douglas  democrats,  now  calling  themselves  the 
union  democratic  party,  met  July  4th.  Their  conven- 
tion was  the  largest  that  had  ever,  up  to  that  time, 
assembled  in  the  state.  Its  platform  declared  for  the 
union  as  unequivocally  as  that  of  the  republicans. 
"We  hold,"  it  said,  "that  our  paramount  allegiance  is 
due  to  the  federal  government;  that  the  right  of  state 
secession  is  a  dangerous  heresy,  inevitably  destructive 
of  our  form  of  government."  There  was  a  lively  con- 
test for  the  nomination  for  governor,  between  John 
Conness,  Governor  Downey,  Eugene  Casserly,  John 
Bidwell,  and  J.  W.  McCorkle,  Conness  winning  on 
the  fourteenth  ballot.  Joseph  C.  McKibben  and  Henry 
Edgerton  were  named  for  congress. 

A  good  deal  of  ill  feeling  was  manifested  during  the 
campaign,  those  who  sympathized  with  secession  show- 
ing increasing  bitterness  after  enlistments  began,  and 
warlike  preparations  became  familiar.  Sometimes  their 
disloyal  expressions  were  resented  with  violence.  On 
election  day  weapons  were  drawn  at  several  polling 
places,  and  a  few  prominent  secessionists  were  driven 
from  the  polls. 

Stanford,  with  the  republican  ticket,  was  successful, 
winning  by  56,036  votes  to  32,751  for  McConnell  and 
30,944  for  Conness.  It  was  evident  that  a  great  many 
of  the  Douglas  democrats  had  gone  over  to  the  repub- 
licans, in  order  as  it  appeared  to  more  positively  express 
their  devotion  to  the  union. 

After  the  election  a  number  of  the  most  violent 
southern  sympathizers  in  California  went  south  and 
enlisted  in  the  confederate  army.  Congressman  Scott 
did    not   return   to   the   state   but   went   south   from 


204  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Washington.  Judge  Terry,  having  been  tried  for  the 
kiUing  of  Broderick  and  acquitted  by  the  aid  of  a 
sympathetic  judge  and  jury,  returned  to  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  after  the  election  in  1861,  went 
south  accompanied  by  a  few  fellow  extremists,  going 
by  the  route  General  Johnston  had  taken.  He  subse- 
quently raised  a  regiment  in  Texas  of  which  he  was 
made  colonel,  and  with  which  he  took  part  in  several 
battles.  Ex-Congressman  Herbert,  another  Texan, 
returned  to  his  native  state,  enlisted  and  was  killed  in 
battle.  Other  more  or  less  prominent  Californians  who 
joined  the  confederate  army,  or  went  south  for  that 
purpose,  were  James  Y.  McDufhe  who  had  been  United 
States  marshall  in  the  time  of  James  King  of  William, 
John  T.  Grenshaw,  J.  L.  Brent,  T.  C.  Flourney,  George 
W.  Gift,  H.  A.  Higley,  R.  Shoemaker,  Phillip  Moore, 
and  Samuel  H.  Brooks  who,  near  the  close  of  his  term 
as  state  controller,  and  having  failed  of  reelection, 
resigned.  Daniel  Showalter  who  had  killed  Piercy  in 
a  duel,  and  a  party  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  who  were 
moving  with  less  celerity  toward  the  confederacy,  were 
overtaken  near  Warner's  ranch  in  San  Diego  county,  by 
a  party  of  the  first  California  volunteers  who  captured 
and  imprisoned  them  in  Fort  Yuma;  some  of  them  are 
said  to  have  already  been  provided  with  commissions 
in  the  confederate  service,  probably  in  the  expectation 
that  they  would  recruit  their  commands  in  California. 
Senator  Gwin,  accompanied  by  Ex-Congressman 
Calhoun  Benham — who  had  been  one  of  Terry's  seconds 
in  the  duel  with  Broderick — and  J.  L.  Brent,  started 
east  by  way  of  Panama  in  October,  1861.  By  the 
same  steamer  went  General  Sumner,  who  had  been 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  205 

relieved  of  command  on  the  coast  at  his  own  request 
and  ordered  to  the  army  in  the  east,  leaving  General 
George  Wright  as  his  successor.  Before  reaching  the 
isthmus  General  Sumner  became  convinced  that  Gwin 
and  his  companions  had  some  treasonable  purpose  in 
view,  and  caused  their  arrest.  They  were  able,  how- 
ever, to  throw  some  maps  and  papers  overboard,  before 
they  were  taken  into  custody,  so  it  was  not  proven 
that  they  were  really  plotting  treason;  and  after  being 
detained  in  prison  for  a  time  in  New  York  and  later  in 
Washington,  they  were  liberated.  Gwin  subsequently 
claimed  that  he  was  to  have  joined  Mason  and  Slidell 
in  Havana,  and  later  he  did  join  Slidell  in  Paris.* 
Benham  and  Brent  went  south  after  they  were  released 
and  joined  the  confederate  army  at  the  first  opportunity. 

As  soon  as  the  first  call  for  volunteers  was  received 
by  pony  express  enlistments  began,  and  California 
furnished  all  the  men  she  was  asked  for  during  the 
war,  and  something  more;  for  one  company  of  one 
hundred  and  one  officers  and  men,  afterwards  known 
as  the  California  Hundred,  and  later  four  companies 
known  as  the  California  battalion,  went  east  and  joined 
a  Massachusetts  regiment;  and  eight  companies  for  the 
First  Washington  regiment  were  later  recruited  in  San 
Francisco,  and  in  the  interior. 

The  response  to  the  first  call  was  perhaps  not  as 
prompt  as  in  the  states  nearer  the  scenes  of  action, 
but  a  full  regiment  of  infantry  and  five  companies  of 
cavalry  were  ready  for  muster  in  August  and  September. 
They  enlisted  for  three  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
that  term  reenlisted  as  veterans.     When  the  second  call 

*Gwin  MS.  quoted  by  Bancroft,  History  of  California,  Vol.  Vll,  p.  284. 


206  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

was  received  in  August  four  regiments  of  infantry  and 
one  of  cavalry  were  raised;  under  later  calls  three  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  seven  companies  of  cavalry  to  com- 
plete the  First  cavalry  regiment,  a  battalion  of  cavalry 
composed  of  four  companies  of  native  Californians 
enlisted,  besides  six  companies  of  mountaineers  to  serve 
against  Indians  in  the  northern  counties,  who  were 
beginning  to  be  more  than  usually  troublesome. 

When  the  first  companies  both  of  infantry  and 
cavalry  were  enlisted  it  was  expected  that  their  prin- 
cipal duty  would  be  to  guard  the  line  of  the  overland 
mail  from  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  state  to  Fort 
Laramie — the  mail  by  the  southern  route  having  been 
discontinued  after  the  secession  of  Arkansas  and  Texas; 
but  before  they  were  ready  to  march  it  was  learned 
that  rebel  forces  were  threatening  New  Mexico  and 
Texas,  probably  with  a  view  of  ultimately  seizing 
California,  and  they  were  sent  to  Los  Angeles,  and  later 
marched  to  New  Mexico  by  way  of  Fort  Yuma  and 
Tucson.  This  march  was  perhaps  the  longest  and  most 
trying  made  by  any  volunteer  troops  during  the  war. 
Their  route  led  across  the  sandy  wastes  traversed  by 
Anza  in  1774  ^"t^  later  by  Kearny  with  a  few  regulars 
and  the  Mormon  battalion.  There  were  no  railroads 
and  all  supplies  as  well  as  the  sick  had  to  be  transported 
by  wagons  or  pack  trains.  Water  could  be  had  only 
at  irregular  intervals,  the  wells  and  water  holes  being 
in  some  places  from  twenty  to  ninety  miles  apart. 
When  mountains  were  crossed  snow  from  a  few  inches 
to  three  and  four  feet  deep  was  encountered,  and  men 
who  had  been  suffering  from  the  extreme  heat  of  the 
desert  were  frequently  nearly  frozen.     They  were  much 


ANTONIO  MARIA  DE  LA  GUERRA 

Born  at  Santa  Barbara,  October  I,  1825;  died  November 
28,  1 88 1;  son  of  Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega;  member 
of  California  senate;  several  times  mayor  of  Santa  Barbara; 
in  war  of  1861-65,  captain  of  California  volunteers,  serving  in 
Arizona. 


mtry  an« 


serv 


that  their  prin 


■MM  ^^^  ^^ex^ 


a  ma  ana 


*~^'^'2^C''f-o-i^<.^^    {^yi/f'  ,   ^?o'^.^^!^ot^    -^^;^C<,yf,zAJo^^ 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  207 

annoyed  by  the  Apaches,  Yumas,  and  Navajos  with 
whom  they  had  several  skirmishes,  and  against  whom 
they  were  required  to  be  constantly  on  guard.  This 
expedition  was  commanded  by  Colonel  James  H.  Carle- 
ton,  who  had  organized  the  First  regiment,  and  who  was 
promoted  brigadier-general  soon  after  the  command 
passed  Fort  Yuma. 

The  Fourth,  Fifth,  and  Seventh  regiments  were  also 
sent  southward,  as  was  the  Second  cavalry,  which 
fought  a  battle  with  Indians  in  Owen  river  valley  for 
which  it  was  particularly  commended.  The  second 
battalion  of  the  First  cavalry,  enlisted  in  1863,  went 
forward  to  join  the  regiment  as  soon  as  possible  after 
it  was  mustered. 

These  troops  in  the  southern  country  rendered 
excellent  service,  both  against  Indians  and  confederates, 
taking  from  the  latter  Forts  Thorn,  Fillmore,  Bliss, 
Quitman,  and  Davis  in  Texas,  as  well  as  capturing 
several  other  points  of  importance.  While  they  took 
part  in  none  of  the  more  famous  battles  of  the  war,  they 
did  some  as  good  fighting  as  was  done  on  more  mem- 
orable fields,  displayed  as  much  valor,  and  suifered 
losses  more  severe  in  proportion  to  their  numbers. 
Some  companies  of  the  First  cavalry  got  as  far  east  as 
Fort  Dodge  and  Fort  Lamed  in  Kansas,  up  to  which 
time  they  had  marched  over  four  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred miles,  much  of  the  distance  through  a  most 
difficult  country. 

The  Second  infantry,  or  a  large  part  of  It  was  sent  to 
Oregon,  where  it  did  good  service  against  the  Indians, 
and  white  outlaws  who  were  more  troublesome  to  the 
emigrants  and  settlers  than  the  Indians  themselves. 


208  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  eight  companies  furnished  by  California  to  the 
First  Washington  regiment  were  also  engaged  in  this 
service.  Later  some  companies  of  the  Second  were 
returned  to  Humboldt  and  Trinity  counties  where, 
with  the  Mountaineer  battalion,  they  were  engaged  in 
the  Indian  war  until  finally  sent  to  Arizona. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Third  regiment  to  guard 
the  overland  mail  route,  which  it  did  eifectively  though 
somewhat  grudgingly  as  its  officers  and  men  were  partic- 
ularly anxious  to  get  service  in  one  of  the  main  armies 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  marched  to  Salt  Lake  where 
its  colonel,  Patrick  E.  Connor,  made  his  headquarters, 
fighting  Indians  when  there  was  occasion,  and  the 
authorities  for  a  chance  to  move  his  regiment  to  the  east 
when  there  was  not.  The  Indians  had  been  making 
trouble  on  the  emigrant  route  between  the  Bear  and 
Humboldt  rivers  for  a  number  of  years  before  the  regi- 
ment arrived,  and  early  in  January,  1863,  killed  some 
miners  in  the  Cache  valley  northeast  of  the  present 
city  of  Ogden.  Colonel  Connor  resolved  to  punish 
them,  and  to  do  it  so  severely  that  their  depredations 
would  cease.  Accordingly  although  the  weather  was 
extremely  cold,  he  set  out  on  January  25th,  with  a 
company  of  infantry,  four  companies  of  the  Second 
cavalry,  which  were  a  part  of  his  command,  and  two 
howitzers,  and  after  a  four  days'  march,  during  which 
seventy-nine  of  his  men  were  disabled  by  frozen  feet 
or  hands,  arrived  near  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  This 
was  in  a  mountain  ravine,  with  steep,  rocky  sides  and 
not  easily  approached  from  any  direction.  In  such 
places  as  it  was  most  easily  assailable  the  Indians  had 
built  barricades  of  rock  or  wood.     The  attack  began  at 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  209 

six  o'clock  In  the  morning  by  the  cavalry,  the  infantry 
having  been  delayed  at  the  crossing  of  Bear  river  until 
horses  were  sent  back  to  assist  them  in  fording  its  icy 
waters.  Several  soldiers  were  killed  at  the  first  fire,  at 
which  the  Indians  tauntingly  defied  them  to  come  on 
and  get  more  of  their  lead.  The  cavalrymen  were  com- 
pelled to  endure  their  Insults  until  the  infantry  arrived, 
when  a  flanking  movement  was  made,  by  which  the 
savages  were  subjected  to  a  fire  against  which  they  had 
no  protection.  But  for  four  hours  they  fought  with 
desperation  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  warriors 
were  found  dead  on  the  field  when  the  battle  was  ended. 
Among  them  were  three  chiefs,  one  of  whom  had  been 
shot  while  moulding  bullets,  and  falling  into  the  fire 
had  been  burned  to  a  crisp.  Pocatello,  the  principal 
chief,  with  about  fifty  warriors  escaped,  and  a  hundred 
and  sixty  squaws  and  children  were  left  to  be  taken 
prisoners. 

This  battle  put  an  end  to  the  massacres  of  emigrants 
and  relieved  the  settlers  from  the  annoying  raids  from 
which  they  had  suffered  from  time  to  time  for  a  number 
of  years.  Connor  lost  fourteen  men  killed  and  forty-nine 
wounded,  of  whom  eight  died  within  the  succeeding  ten 
days.  The  command  was  highly  complimented  by  the 
authorities  In  Washington  and  by  General  Wright 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  department.* 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  regiment  at  Salt  Lake 
Colonel  Connor  selected  the  site  and  began  the  con- 
struction of  Fort  Douglas,  which  is  still  maintained  as 
a  military  post.  It  had  been  supposed  when  he  was 
ordered  there  that  the  presence  of  his  command  might 

*Orson  F.  Whitney,  History  of  Utah,  Vol.  II,  p.  77-81. 


210  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

be  required  to  keep  the  Mormons  in  subjection,  but  he 
found  no  occasion  to  employ  it  in  that  direction,  the 
people  of  that  sect  having  apparently  forgotten  or 
forgiven  the  warlike  demonstration  the  government 
had  made  against  them  a  few  years  earlier,  and  being 
at  the  time  as  loyal  as  any  others.  On  September  24, 
1862,  Colonel  Connor  wrote  to  General  Halleck  that 
his  regiment  had  now  been  in  service  a  year,  had 
marched  six  hundred  miles  and  was  well  officered  and 
thoroughly  drilled;  but  it  was  "of  no  service  on  the 
overland  mail  route  as  there  is  cavalry  sufficient  for  its 
protection  in  the  Utah  district.  The  regiment  will 
authorize  the  paymaster  to  withhold  ^30,000  of  pay 
now  due,"  he  said,  "if  the  government  will  order  it 
east;  and  it  pledges  General  Halleck  never  to  disgrace 
the  flag,  himself,  or  California.  The  men  enlisted  to 
fight  traitors,  and  can  do  so  more  efficiently  than  raw 
recruits.  *  *  *  If  the  above  sum  is  insufficient  we  will 
pay  our  own  passage  from  San  Francisco  to  Panama." 
This  he  signed,  and  doubtless  with  authority:  "By 
order  of  the  regiment,  P.  Edward  Connor,  Colonel 
commanding." 

The  regiment  was  never  ordered  east  but  Colonel 
Connor  was  promoted  brigadier-general  in  March,  1863, 
and  for  some  years  afterwards  commanded  all  the  troops 
guarding  the  overland  mail  route  as  far  east  as  the 
Missouri  river. 

The  "California  Hundred"  was  a  select  body  of 
young  men  and  good  horsemen  who,  in  order  to  secure 
service  where  the  fighting  was  likely  to  be  hottest,  and 
who  could  and  did  pay  their  own  expenses  until  they 
could  get  what  they  wanted,  offered  their  services  to 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  211 

Massachusetts  early  in  1862,  and  were  accepted,  being 
assigned  to  the  Second  Massachusetts  cavalry.  The 
company  was  raised  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ringold  of 
the  regular  army.  Its  first  captain  was  J.  Sewell  Reed, 
afterwards  promoted  major,  and  its  second  Archibald 
McKendry  afterwards  major  and  colonel.  It  took  part 
in  twenty-three  battles,  some  of  them  the  most  famous 
of  the  war.  Later  the  "California  Battalion"  com- 
posed of  four  companies,  tendered  its  services  to  Massa- 
chusetts and  became  a  part  of  the  Second  cavalry.  Of 
the  five  hundred  Californians  who  thus  fought  in  a 
Massachusetts  regiment,  only  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  were  left  to  be  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  eight  hundred  Californians  who  served  in 
the  First  Washington  regiment  did  honorable  service 
though  of  a  less  spectacular  kind.  These  companies 
were  scattered  from  Vancouver  barracks  to  Fort 
Colvile  in  northern  Washington,  Walla  Walla  in  its 
eastern  part,  and  along  the  emigrant  trail  from  the 
Columbia  to  the  upper  waters  of  Snake  river  in  Oregon 
and  Idaho. 

The  California  volunteers,  exclusive  of  these  com- 
panies which  served  in  the  east  and  in  the  Washington 
regiment,  did  some  of  the  hardest  marching  of  the  war, 
says  a  Vermont  soldier  who  served  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,*  and  much  of  it  "through  deep  snows  and 
intense  cold,  as  well  as  burning  sands  and  torrid  heat, 
and  ranged  over  an  extent  of  territory  destitute  of 
railroads,  destitute  of  supplies,  much  of  it  arid,  barren, 
and  unoccupied  except  by  Indians,  one-third  greater 

*Charles  A.  Woodruff,  Paper  read  before  the  Society  of  California  Volunteers, 
October  25,  1893. 


212  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

than  that  of  the  eleven  states  in  rebellion."  They 
garrisoned  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  stations  and 
cantonments  in  California,  Oregon,  Idaho,  Nevada, 
Utah,  Wyoming,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  Wash- 
ington, Colorado,  and  Kansas;  they  constructed  eleven, 
and  assisted  in  building  three  other  permanent  posts, 
some  of  which  are  occupied  today.  They  had  seventy- 
seven  killed  by  Indians,  thirty-five  drowned  in  the 
treacherous  but  widely  separated  streams  they  crossed; 
twenty-one  were  murdered,  and  five  hundred  and  one 
were  killed  or  died  of  disease. 

Some  of  the  flags  borne  by  these  several  organizations 
have  been  rescued  from  the  moths  and  mice  which,  but 
for  the  thoughtfulness  of  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Volunteers,  might  long  since  have  destroyed  them,  and 
are  now  shown  in  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol  at  Sacra- 
mento. Some  of  them  bear  the  names  of  the  battles  in 
which  those  who  carried  them  took  part.  But  they 
are  not  all  there.  If  the  missing  ones  are  still  in  exist- 
ence it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may  be  placed  with  the 
others  to  be  an  honor  to  the  state  and  an  inspiration  to 
future  generations. 

There  was  still  another  regiment  than  those  men- 
tioned which  did  good  service  for  which  California  is 
entitled  to  some,  if  not  all  credit,  as  it  bore  California's 
name  for  a  long  time  at  least.  It  was  enlisted  by 
Colonel  Baker  by  special  authority  from  the  war 
department.  When  the  first  call  for  volunteers  was 
made,  it  was  clear  to  everybody  that  California's  quota 
could  not  be  available  within  the  three  months  for 
which  the  volunteers  were  to  serve,  and  Colonel  Baker 
asked  permission  to  raise  in  the  east  a  regiment  of  men 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  213 

who  had  been  in  California.  This  was  granted  and  a 
full  regiment  was  raised,  principally  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania.  At  the  first  meeting  held  in  New  York 
on  the  day  following  the  first  publication  of  the  notice 
that  such  a  regiment  was  wanted,  between  two  and 
three  hundred  returned  Californians  were  present  and 
signed  the  rolls.  In  Pennsylvania  the  returned  gold 
hunters  responded  even  more  numerously  and  the  ten 
companies  were  soon  filled.  Colonel  Baker  commanded 
the  regiment  until  made  a  brigadier-general.  It  was 
long  known  as  a  California  regiment,  but  later  became 
the  Seventy-First  Pennsylvania. 

But  it  was  not  alone  by  the  volunteers  it  furnished 
that  California  proved  its  devotion  to  the  union.  Its 
mines  helped  notably  to  support  the  nation's  credit. 
Had  the  gold  and  silver  mined  in  the  coast  states 
during  the  years  1861  to  1865  been  turned  into  the 
treasury  of  the  confederacy — as  it  might  have  been  but 
for  the  loyalty  of  its  people  and  the  work  done  by  the 
California  volunteers  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and 
Texas — the  whole  result  of  the  war  might  have  been 
different.  The  total  value  of  the  precious  metals 
shipped  out  of  the  coast  states  during  the  years  1861 
to  1864  inclusive,  was  ^186,012,460.*  This  real  money 
— or  the  material  from  which  real  money  is  made — 
was  a  factor  of  immense  importance  to  the  nation 
during  the  whole  contest.  It  enabled  it  to  pay  the 
interest  on  its  bonds  according  to  agreement,  thus 
restraining  and  limiting  their  depreciation,  and  vastly 
lessening  the  volume  of  debt  incurred  by  its  enormous 
expenditures.     No  one  can  estimate  with  any  degree 

*].  Ross  Browne,  Resources  of  the  Pacific  Coast  States  and  Territories,  p.  292. 


214  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  certainty  the  value  of  this  sustaining  force  to  the 
national  credit,  nor  do  more  than  guess  how  great 
the  change  would  have  been,  had  these  precious  metals 
gone  to  the  south  instead  of  the  north ;  but  it  may  well 
be  believed  that  while  the  north  was  richer  than  the 
south  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  everything  required 
to  meet  its  enormous  expense  and  waste,  its  bonds  and 
circulating  notes  might  have  depreciated  as  rapidly, 
and  in  time  become  of  as  little  value  as  those  of  the 
confederacy,  had  they  not  had  this  sustaining  influence 
behind  them. 

Evidence  is  not  wanting  that  the  promoters  of 
secession  had  not  left  California  and  the  coast  states 
out  of  their  calculations.  The  Pacific  republic  had 
been  planned  by  their  sympathizers,  who  had  long 
acted  in  harmony  with  them  in  congress,  the  hope  of 
both  being  that  once  separated  from  the  union  these 
states  and  territories  might  more  easily  be  persuaded 
to  join  the  confederacy.  Had  this  plan  succeeded  the 
national  government  would  not  have  had  their  mineral 
wealth  to  sustain  its  credit,  and  the  confederacy  might, 
in  time,  have  secured  it. 

As  it  was,  more  or  less  futile  efforts  were  made  from 
time  to  time  to  secure  some  part  of  the  treasure  for  the 
confederacy;  and  finally  the  privateer  Shenandoah  was 
sent  to  the  Pacific,  but  arrived  too  late  to  accomplish 
anything.  Nearly  two  years  before  she  appeared  an 
attempt  was  made  to  start  privateering  on  the  Califor- 
nia coast.  Early  in  1863  a  letter  of  marque  had  been 
procured  from  Jefferson  Davis  and  the  /.  M.  Chapman, 
a  schooner  of  ninety  tons  had  been  purchased  for  a 
cruise  down  the  coast  with  the  object  of  seizing  one 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  215 


of  the  Panama  steamers.  Having  succeeded  in  this 
the  steamer  was  to  be  turned  into  a  privateer  with 
which  other  steamers  and  the  gold  they  carried  were  to 
be  captured.  A  considerable  quantity  of  arms,  amu- 
nition,  uniforms,  and  other  warlike  supplies  had  been 
taken  on  board,  as  well  as  a  stock  of  merchandise 
intended  to  conceal  the  true  character  of  the  enterprise, 
and  the  ship  was  formally  cleared  at  the  custom  house 
for  Manzanillo.  But  as  she  cast  off  her  moorings,  on 
the  morning  of  March  15th,  she  was  overhauled  by  two 
boats  from  the  sloop-of-war  Cyane,  lying  in  the  harbor, 
and  later  a  tug  with  revenue  officers  came  alongside, 
by  whom  the  whole  piratical  company  were  placed 
under  arrest.  Three  of  them  were  later  convicted  in 
the  federal  court  and  sentenced  to  serve  a  term  of  ten 
years  in  San  Quentin. 

One  other  attempt  to  secure  California's  gold  for  the 
confederacy  was  made  on  the  night  of  June  30,  1864, 
when  the  stage  from  Virginia  City  was  robbed  of  a 
considerable  amount  of  bullion  a  few  miles  east  of 
Placerville.  The  robbers  gave  the  driver  a  receipt 
purporting  to  be  signed  by  R.  Henry  Ingraham,  a 
captain  in  the  rebel  service,  and  decamped,  but  most 
of  them  were  afterwards  captured.  During  the  chase 
a  deputy  sheriff  was  killed  for  which  one  of  the  number 
was  hanged  and  another  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for 
twenty  years. 

The  legislature  of  1862  adopted  resolutions  heartily 
approving  the  policy  of  the  government.  During  the 
session  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  unite  the  repub- 
licans and  union  democratic  parties,  as  members  of 
both  were  acting  together  harmoniously  in  supporting 


216  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  union;  but  Governor  Stanford  did  not  favor  it,  and 
some  members  of  both  parties  opposed,  thinking  it 
unwise  to  give  up  their  party  organizations;  and  the 
election  for  that  year  was  unimportant,  as  the  only 
officer  to  be  chosen  was  a  superintendent  of  public 
instruction.  But  the  movement  so  far  succeeded  that 
a  call  was  issued  for  a  convention  of  the  union  party, 
and  such  a  convention  was  held.  Three  candidates 
were  therefore  named  for  the  only  office  to  be  filled, 
and  the  union  candidate  was  successful,  receiving  more 
votes  than  were  cast  for  both  the  others.  Soon  after 
the  election  several  prominent  southern  sympathizers, 
among  whom  were  two  members  of  the  legislature, 
were  arrested  and  sent  to  Alcatraz  island,  but  were 
released  on  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

When  the  legislature  met  in  January,  1863,  the 
Emancipation  proclamation  had  been  issued,  and  it 
was  soon  apparent  that  some  democrats  who  had 
hitherto  acted  with  the  republicans  would  no  longer  do 
so.  The  proclamation  was,  however,  endorsed  "as  a 
part  of  the  war  policy,  deemed  proper  and  necessary 
by  the  commander  in  chief,"  by  a  vote  of  sixty-four  to 
eleven  in  the  assembly,  and  by  a  similar  vote  in  the 
senate. 

An  effort  was  made  to  reunite  the  factions  of  the 
democratic  party,  and  it  was  so  far  successful  as  to 
draw  to  the  Breckenridge  party  those  of  the  Douglas 
faction  who  were  not  inclined  to  approve  emancipation. 
Only  two  conventions  were  held  and  two  tickets  put 
up  in  1863.  The  union  party  declared  that  "any 
means  necessary  to  be  made  use  of  to  preserve  the 
union  are  constitutional,"  and  nominated  Frederick  F. 


LOS  ANGELES 
A  Business  Center.     Fourth  and  Main  streets 


iG 


the  union;  ^- 

-''--^-               ot  favor  it,  and 

some  mci 

^  .  ;ed,   thinkinj?   ir 

unwise 

nizatir 

electioi 

unimpj                     fhe  only 

officer 

f  public 

ins  true; 

ded  that 

a  rail  ^ 

on  of  ^              11  party, 

mdidat' 

be  fillec 

,>  a^  6uci^.c^bi  Lii.   i5;cciv''~  --^  —  ■ 

both  the  others.     S^ 

rominent  southern  sympathizer: 

:rs  of  the  legislature: 

-cz  island,  but  wei 

..>,iance. 

:■)   January,    1863,    the 

een  issued,  and  it 

democrats    who   hac- 

uld  no  longer  d; 

-ndorsed  "as 

pai 

lecessar 

by 

ixty-four  to 

i-  the 

democratic  party 

as  to 

draw  to  t} 

I  he  Douglas 

4r„  ..: ^J^^^  „ 

•-•^ation. 

vo  con 

,__..._.                    ■  nm 

The  union   party  declared  th 
necessary  ise  of  to  preserve  the 

re  constitutional,    ana  nominated  Frederick  F 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  217 

Low  for  governor,  Stanford  who  had  sought  a  renomi- 
nation  withdrawing  at  the  last  moment.  The  state 
was  now  entitled  to  three  members  of  congress  and 
Thomas  B.  Shannon,  William  Higley,  and  Cornelius 
Cole  were  nominated.  The  democrats  nominated  John 
G.  Downey  for  governor;  John  B.  Weller,  John  Bigler, 
and  J.  W.  McCorkle  for  congress,  condemned  the 
Emancipation  proclamation  "as  tending  to  protract 
the  war,  incite  servile  insurrection  and  inevitably  close 
the  door  forever  to  a  restoration  of  the  union."  It 
was  therefore  "for  the  constitution  as  it  is  and  the  union 
as  it  was."  Low  and  the  republican  members  of  con- 
gress, as  well  as  the  entire  union  ticket  were  elected  by 
a  majority  of  nearly  twenty  thousand  in  a  total  of 
nearly  one  hundred  and  nine  thousand  votes.  In  the 
following  year  Lincoln  carried  the  state  by  a  majority 
of  over  eighteen  thousand. 

The  senatorial  contest  in  1863,  to  elect  a  successor 
to  Latham,  was  an  exciting  one.  Latham  who  was 
serving  part  of  the  unexpired  term  of  Broderick,  had 
supported  the  union  cause  only  indifferently.  When 
elected  he  had  favored  a  division  of  the  state,  and  had 
been  as  well  disposed  toward  the  pro-slavery  party  as 
Gwin  himself.  Later  he  had  professed  to  oppose 
secession,  and  had  taken  part  in  the  great  loyal  demon- 
stration in  San  Francisco  on  May  11,  1861.  In  the 
campaign  of  1862  he  had  favored  the  prosecution  of 
the  war,  but  condemned  nearly  every  means  used  for 
that  purpose.  Sargent  and  Phelps,  members  of  the 
lower  house,  had  replied  to  him  so  effectively  that  both 
were  now  regarded  with  more  favor  than  he  as  candi- 
dates for  his  place.     The  other  candidates  were  Trenor 


218  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

W.  Park,  a  republican  like  themselves,  and  John 
Conness,  a  union  democrat.  No  choice  was  made  for 
several  weeks,  during  which  much  bitterness  was 
developed  and  some  charges  of  attempted  bribery  made, 
though  none  were  proven.  Conness  was  in  the  end 
elected. 

California  was  among  the  first  states  to  pay  its 
proportion  of  the  direct  tax  levied  to  carry  on  the  war. 
The  state  treasurer,  Delos  R.  Ashley,  on  his  own  author- 
ity, paid  the  first  installment  in  treasury  notes,  which 
were  then  at  a  discount,  and  thereby  saved  the  state 
something  over  ^4,400.  On  learning  what  he  had  done 
Governor  Stanford  wrote  the  treasury  department  that 
the  payment  had  been  so  made  without  authority; 
that  the  people  of  the  state  had  paid  the  tax  in  gold, 
and  had  no  desire  to  benefit  at  the  expense  of  the  gen- 
eral government;  but  he  was  assured  in  return  that  the 
national  government  had  no  desire  to  exact  more  from 
California  than  from  any  other  state,  and  that  the  pay- 
ment as  made  was  entirely  satisfactory.  All  subsequent 
payments  were  accordingly  made  in  greenbacks. 

While  the  state  appropriated  liberal  sums  to  organize 
and  provide  for  its  volunteers  until  they  could  be  mus- 
tered into  the  national  service,  its  people  contributed 
far  more  liberally  to  the  Sanitary  Commission.  As 
soon  as  it  was  known  that  this  beneficent  organization 
had  been  formed  to  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  sol- 
diers in  the  field,  all  Californians  took  a  lively  interest 
in  it.  Reverend  Thomas  Starr  King  took  a  leading 
part  in  making  known  its  objects  and  needs,  and  largely 
through  his  efforts  organizations  were  formed  to  receive 
and  solicit  contributions  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  and 


TRENOR  W.  PARK 

Born  in  Woodford,  Vermont,  Dfcember  8,  1823;  died  at 
sea,  December  13,  1882,  After  practicing  law  in  the  east, 
he  removed  to  California  in  1852;  conspicuous  lawyer  and 
citizen  there  until  1863,  when  he  returned  east;  identified 
with  important  financial  and  development  interests — in  con- 
nection with  lands,  mines,  railways,  etc.;  a  leading  projector 
of  the  Emma  mine;  for  some  years  the  controlling  owner  and 
president  of  the  Panama  Railroad;  public  spirited  and  phil- 
anthropic citizen. 


;tory  of  cai 


several    we 
develo] 


'?  ma 


de  foT 


f  attempted  biibciy  maclv 


.-.  o     '»-.     rl-ii 


IX  levi 

ihe  war. 

•t  \    *    i 

iCy,  Oi- 

. . .  *,  1 

,  ^,  ji  .  k      .  <  i 

treasu 

,   .,,  ,., .. ., — p  J 

'  what 

'.-inti,,-.,;// 

he  had  don 
•'-^     that 

^     pay- 
bsequei 


i.aJ  been  ''^'^^^  "^^^■■ 

■  -n  the  >  "  interest 

Rever  -  leading 

making  known  its  objects  and  needs,  and  largely 

Is  eiforts  organizations  were  formed  to  receive 

.  .,  ntributions  *       ''^  •  '  ■" 


^+     -(-"l-,i»    ct'^t(^       nriil 


CIVIL  WAR  TIMES  219 

indeed  all  along  the  coast.  At  the  first  meeting  held 
in  San  Francisco  on  September  6,  1862,  ^6,600  in  gold 
was  collected.  Ten  days  later  ^160,000  also  in  gold,  was 
remitted.  In  October  still  another  $100,000  was  sent, 
and  again  another  before  the  end  of  the  year.  In 
October,  1863,  Dr.  Bellows  of  New  York,  chairman  of 
the  commission,  reported  that  it  was  expending  $50,000 
per  month,  and  its  funds  were  running  low;  he  asked  if 
California  would  undertake  to  supply  half  the  money 
needed.  To  this  a  reply  was  at  once  sent  by  telegraph 
that  San  Francisco  would  send  $200,000  before  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  the  remainder  of  the  state  would  provide 
another  $100,000.  This  promise  was  made  good;  San 
Francisco  contributed  the  $25,000  per  month  asked  for, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  state  did  proportionately 
well,  and  when  the  work  of  the  commission  was  finished, 
it  was  found  that  of  the  $4,800,000  which  it  had  received 
in  cash,  California  had  provided  nearly  $1,250,000,  or 
more  than  one-quarter  of  the  whole. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  COMSTOCK  LODE 


"  ^^'^  ALIFORNIA   mature   at   eleven,    plants    a 
m  colony  in  1859-60  which  ripens  into  a  new 

^^        J    state  in  1864.     Nevada  is    the   first   child 
^^-^    of  California.'' 

So  wrote  Samuel  Bowles,*  then  one  of  the  leading 
journalists  of  the  country  in  1865,  after  completing 
the  journey  from  Massachusetts  to  San  Francisco  by 
way  of  Salt  Lake  and  Virginia  City,  in  company  with 
Speaker  Colfax  of  the  house  of  representatives.  Horace 
Greeley  a  still  more  famous  editor,  after  making  the 
same  trip  in  1859,  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  there 
were  not  at  that  time  more  than  three  hundred  human 
habitations,  mostly  of  logs,t  in  the  whole  territory  that 
six  years  later  was  erected  into  a  state.  The  great 
change  was  due  largely  to  one  of  the  greatest  and 
richest  ledges  of  gold  and  silver  bearing  ore  that  had 
ever  up  to  that  time  been  discovered. 

Early  in  1853  two  brothers  named  Hosea  Ballou  and 
Ethan  Allen  Grosh,  in  the  course  of  their  wanderings 
as  prospectors,  crossed  the  mountains  into  what  is  now 
Nevada.  They  had  come  to  California  from  Penn- 
sylvania in  1849  and  had  been  prospecting  ever  since. 
They  were  hunting,  as  all  other  prospectors  were  at 
that  time,  for  placer  diggings,  wet  or  dry,  from  which 
gold  dust  or  nuggets  might  be  taken  in  paying  quantity 
with  pick  and  pan.  They  knew  something  about  quartz, 
as  most  prospectors  did,  but  were  not  particularly 
interested  in  such  deposits  further  than  that  they  might 
indicate  the  presence  of  loose  gold  in  their  vicinity. 
Few  people  in  California  were  doing  anything  at  rock 

*Samuel  Bowles,  Jcross  the  Continent,  p.  139,  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  1865. 
tHorace  Greeley,  Recollections  of  a  Busy  Life,  p.  378,  J.  B.  Ford  &  Company, 
New  York,  1868. 


224  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

mining  at  that  time,  and  the  Grosh  brothers  had  little 
thought  of  attempting  work  of  that  kind,  being  like 
other  prospectors  wholly  unprepared  for  it. 

But  in  a  gulch  on  the  north-eastern  side  of  the  highest 
peak  of  the  Washoe  range,  then  known  as  Sun  mountain 
they  came  upon  a  curious  ledge  that  impressed  them 
as  possibly  valuable.  The  rock  was  of  a  kind  they  had 
not  often  seen  before,  if  ever.  It  was  quite  unlike  that 
which  had  attracted  the  attention  of  prospectors  on 
the  Yuba  in  1850,  had  since  been  traced  south  almost 
to  the  Merced,  and  was  now  known  the  world  over  as 
the  mother  lode;  but  there  was  a  vast  amount  of  it  and 
the  brothers  appear  to  have  determined  to  learn  more 
about  it,  before  permitting  the  fact  that  they  had  found 
it  to  become  too  generally  known. 

They  recrossed  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  the  scenes  of 
their  earlier  prospecting  enterprises  for  the  winter,  and 
during  the  three  or  four  years  succeeding  made  one  or 
perhaps  two  trips  to  the  great  ledge,  but  always  without 
the  means  of  finding  out  Vv^hat  it  contained.  During 
their  last  visit,  in  the  summer  of  1857,  one  of  them 
struck  a  pick  through  his  foot  and  later  died  of  blood 
poisoning,  and  the  other  was  so  badly  frozen  while 
returning  to  California,  as  to  lose  both  his  feet  and  then 
his  life.  Neither  ever  knew  that  they  had  discovered 
one  of  the  richest  silver  mines  in  the  world — a  deposit 
so  rich  that  within  twenty  years  it  would  seriously 
disturb  the  relative  value  of  silver  to  gold,  and  produce 
economic  changes  as  great,  or  greater  than  those 
caused  by  Marshall's  discovery.* 

*Before  the  mines  on  this  ledge  were  fairly  opened  in  1870  the  world's  output  of 
silver  amounted  to  about  8,000,000  pounds  sterling.  For  the  five  years  following 
1870  it  averaged  15,000,000  pounds,  more  than  half  of  which  was  from  Nevada. 
Encyclopedia  Britanica — Article  on  money. 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  225 

Three  years  before  the  Grosh  brothers  had  found 
their  way  into  the  Carson  river  valley,  a  party  of  eighty 
Mormon  settlers  had  arrived  there.  Some  of  them  had 
found  gold  in  one  of  the  little  streams  flowing  down 
from  Sun  mountain,  and  the  deep  rent  in  its  side 
through  which  the  little  rill  flowed  had  come  to  be 
known  as  Gold  Canon.  But  the  Mormon  hierarchy 
of  that  time  discouraged  mining,  and  these  faithful  sons 
of  the  church,  having  satisfied  their  curiosity,  turned 
to  the  farming  and  stock-raising  that  had  been  and  was 
to  be  the  business  of  their  lives,  took  up  claims  in  the 
valley  and  thereafter  paid  but  little  attention  to  pros- 
pecting. A  few  years  later  they  were  joined  by  other 
members  of  their  sect  and  had  taken  up  and  improved 
a  large  part  of  the  tillable  land  in  the  vicinity. 

But  while  they  turned  away  from  the  temptation  of 
the  hills,  more  worldly  minded  people  arrived  who  did 
not  do  so.  There  were  other  prospectors  in  the  neigh- 
borhood when  the  Grosh  brothers  arrived  there,  and 
still  others  came  and  remained;  but  it  was  not  until 
after  the  brothers  were  dead  that  the  immense  deposit 
of  paying  ore  which  had  awakened  their  curiosity  was 
rediscovered. 

The  ore  from  this  lode  was  so  different  from  that 
found  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  that  these 
early  prospectors  did  not  for  a  long  time  guess  its  value. 
Even  the  Grosh  brothers,  who  were  studious  and  ob- 
serving men,*  had  been  puzzled  by  it.     Among  the 

*Charles  Howard  Shinn,  The  Story  of  the  Mine,  D.  Appleton  &  Company,  New 
York,  1908.  Mr.  Shinn  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  what  is  apparently  an  authen- 
tic story  of  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock  lode  by  the  Grosh  brothers,  from  Dr. 
R.  W.  Bucke,  of  London,  Ontario,  who  was  with  them  in  1857,  and  later  had  access 
to  letters  they  had  written  home  while  prospecting  in  California  and  Nevada. 


226  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

crumpled  masses  of  it  which  had  been  worn  away  by 
the  rains  and  winds  of  centuries,  and  had  fallen  into  the 
canon  in  which  their  prospecting  was  carried  on,  there 
were  huge  mounds  of  a  grayish  blue  rock  that  did  not 
seem  to  carry  gold  and  yet  gold  was  usually  found  in 
its  vicinity.  When  the  later  prospectors  began  to  use 
quicksilver  in  their  cradles  and  sluices,  this  blue  mate- 
rial took  up  their  quicksilver  and  gave  them  nothing 
in  return  for  it.  Finally  as  they  followed  up  the 
canons  and  came  upon  the  heaps  of  it  near  the  northern 
and  southern  ends  of  the  lode,  they  found  the  ground 
very  rich,  but  this  "blue  stuff"  was  very  much  in  their 
way.  The  first  rich  heap  of  this  kind  was  found  in 
Gold  Cafion  at  the  southern  end  of  the  lode  and  was 
called  Gold  Hill;  the  next  was  in  Six  Mile  Canon  near 
its  northern  end,  and  from  this  the  lead  was  traced  to 
the  lode  itself  on  June  12,  1859.  This  was  the  place 
where  the  Grosh  brothers  had  made  their  discovery 
two  years  earlier.  It  afterwards  became  world  famous 
as  the  Ophir  mine. 

Two  prospectors  who  were  working  together  as  part- 
ners made  this  second  discovery,  though  their  names 
are  rarely  mentioned  in  connection  with  it.  They  were 
Peter  O'Riley  and  Patrick  McLaughlin.  They  had 
hardly  convinced  themselves  of  the  richness  of  their 
find  when  a  ne'er-do-well  fellow  prospector,  named 
Henry  Thomas  Paige  Comstock,  and  generally  known 
as  "Old  Pancake,"  who  had  been  a  teamster  on  every 
trail  from  the  Missouri  river  to  New  Mexico  and  Cali- 
fornia, came  along  to  congratulate  them  on  their  good 
fortune.  In  their  simplicity  O'Riley  and  McLaughlin 
showed  this  ex-teamster  the  results  of  their  first  day's 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  227 

work,  and  being  a  resourceful  fellow,  he  immediately 
claimed  a  share  in  their  discovery  on  the  ground  that 
he  had  once  purchased  the  ground  from  one  Caldwell, 
an  earlier  discoverer.  This  Caldwell  once  owned  the 
spring  whose  water  they  had  been  using,  he  said,  and 
had  built  a  sluice  box,  some  remains  of  which  were  still 
visible;  his  title,  evidenced  by  these  remains  and  with 
it  his  right  to  sell,  must  be  undoubted,  and  therefore 
he,  Henry  Thomas  Paige  Comstock,  the  purchaser  must 
in  fact  be  the  rightful  owner.  Finding  O'Riley  and 
McLaughlin  goodnaturedly  disposed  to  yield  to  his 
pretensions,  he  claimed  another  share  for  his  partner, 
one  Emanuel  Penrod,  known  among  his  fellow  pros- 
pectors as  "Manny,"  and  after  a  little  time  it  was  so 
settled,  the  two  prospectors  who  had  found  the  claim 
giving  up  half  of  it  to  two  others  who  had  most  likely 
never  before  heard  of  it. 

The  Washoe  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  were 
disposed  to  be  friendly  and  helpful,  and  by  encouraging 
them  with  small  presents  and  large  promises,  to  do 
most  of  the  heavier  work  these  lucky  gold  hunters 
became  fairly  prosperous  during  the  summer.  Some 
days  the  four  took  out  as  much  as  ^500  and  ^1,000 
each  in  gold,  and  were  throwing  away  several  times  as 
much  in  silver  without  knowing  it;  for  the  "blue  stuff" 
bothered  them  greatly  and  they  had  as  yet  no  hint  of  its 
value.  But  one  day  a  plain  farmer  from  the  Truckee 
valley  having  heard  of  their  good  fortune,  rode  over  to 
Six  Mile  Canon,  and  after  watching  their  operations 
for  a  little  time  began  to  make  inquiry  about  the  "blue 
stuff"  they  were  finding  so  troublesome.  They  assured 
him  it  was  valueless  and  even  worse,  making  them  no 


228  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

end  of  trouble  and  expense;  nevertheless  he  selected  a 
few  pieces  and  took  them  across  the  mountains  to 
Nevada  City  to  be  assayed.  Two  assayers  reported 
practically  the  same  result — gold  $1,595  and  silver 
$4,791  to  the  ton.*  The  "blue  stuff"  was  both  a  gold 
and  silver  bearing  ore;  it  was  rich  in  gold  and  at  the 
same  time  carried  silver  of  two  or  three  times  its  value. 
There  was  even  some  silver  mixed  with  the  free  gold 
which  the  miners  had  so  far  been  finding  in  the  placers; 
it  was  this  that  gave  it  its  whitish  color  and  reduced  its 
value  so  far  that  the  bankers  at  Placerville  would  pay 
only  $13  per  ounce  for  it,  while  they  were  readily  giving 
$18  for  that  found  in  the  placers  of  the  American,  the 
Yuba,  and  rivers  further  north. 

No  effort  was  apparently  made  to  keep  the  results 
of  these  first  assays  from  becoming  public,  and  a  rush  of 
miners  and  prospectors  from  the  west  to  the  east  side 
of  the  mountains  immediately  followed.  One  or  two  of 
the  most  enterprising  left  Nevada  City  on  the  evening 
of  the  very  day  the  news  became  public.  Within  a 
few  days  the  exodus  was  greater  than  it  had  been  during 
the  preceding  year  to  Fraser  river.  All  the  roads  and 
trails  leading  over  the  mountains,  and  particularly  that 
through  Placerville  over  which  the  Pony  express  came 
and  went,  was  thronged  with  them.  Before  the  year 
1859  closed  the  new  lode  had  been  explored  throughout 
its  entire  length — found  to  be  between  three  and  four 
miles — and  every  foot  of  it  located.  Claims  were  also 
staked  for  a  long  distance  on  either  side  of  it.  The 
country  for  many   miles   beyond   was   explored,    and 

*These  are  the  figures  given  by  Mr.  Shinn.    Hittell  gives  the  result  of  presumably 
the  same  assays  as  gold  }5 1,595  ^""^  silver  $3,196. 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  229 

although  nothing  so  valuable  as  the  first  find  was  dis- 
covered, other  promising  prospects  were  found,  partic- 
ularly on  Reese  river,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  further 
east,  as  well  as  at  White  Pine  and  in  other  places. 
Nevada,  still  a  part  of  Utah,  speedily  became  in  effect 
a  part  of  California,  through  the  enterprise  of  the 
Californians  who  had  taken  possession  of  it,  and  were 
soon  turning  its  wealth  into  their  own  state. 

Development  of  the  new  mines  was  fairly  rapid 
considering  the  difficulties  encountered  and  the  inex- 
perience of  those  who  found  them.  At  first  the  exposed 
part  of  the  lode,  more  or  less  decomposed  as  it  was  by 
exposure  to  the  elements,  was  easily  removed,  beaten 
to  pieces  with  picks,  shovels,  hammers  or  anything 
the  prospectors  found  ready  to  their  hands,  and  the 
powdered  material  run  through  their  rockers. 

As  their  pits  deepened  and  the  rock  grew  harder, 
rude  arastras,*  of  the  kind  the  Mexicans  had  long  used, 
were  constructed  to  grind  it  and  prepare  it  for  washing. 
A  windlass  with  wooden  buckets  was  brought  into  use 
to  hoist  the  mineral  out  of  the  pit,  one  or  two  men 
doing  the  hoisting  while  another  did  the  mining.  As 
still  greater  depth  was  reached  a  mule  was  made  to  do 
the  hoisting.  Finally  a  steam  engine  of  fifteen  horse 
power  found  its  way  to  the  Ophir  mine  in  i860  or  '61, 

*An  arastra  was  made  by  surrounding  a  bit  of  flat  rock  or  paved  floor  a  few  feet 
in  diameter  with  a  low  curb.  To  a  post  firmly  planted  in  the  middle  of  it  a  sweep, 
one  end  of  which  projected  beyond  the  curb  was  firmly  fastened,  and  to  this  end  a 
mule,  or  sometimes  two  mules  were  attached;  to  the  shorter  end  a  heavy  stone 
weighing  perhaps  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  pounds  was  so  fixed  as  to  drag  on 
the  floor.  When  ready  for  operation  the  floor  was  covered  with  quartz  broken  as 
fine  as  it  conveniently  could  be  with  hammers,  and  as  the  stone  was  dragged  over 
it  the  quartz  was  gradually  reduced  to  powder.  Near  the  end  of  the  grinding 
process  water  was  poured  on  the  mass  until  it  became  paste,  when  it  was  put  through 
the  rockers,  the  gold  and  some  of  the  silver  also  being  taken  up  by  quicksilver. 


230  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  first  machine  of  the  kind  in  Nevada,  and  the  pre- 
cursor of  many  others,  some  of  which  were  the  most 
powerful  that  had  ever  been  built  up  to  that  time. 

Every  stroke  of  the  pick  on  the  wonderful  lode 
increased  confidence  in  its  wealth,  and  the  effect  on 
California  soon  began  to  be  exhibited  in  many  ways. 
The  miners  who  hurried  across  the  mountains  in  greater 
numbers  than  they  had  ever  before  gone  to  new  and 
promising  regions,  required  to  be  fed,  clothed,  and 
furnished  with  the  tools  and  implements  of  their  craft. 
Lumber  would  be  required  in  immense  quantity  to  build 
homes  for  them  and  timber  the  mines  as  they  should 
be  developed.  New  and  improved  machinery  would  be 
needed,  in  ever  increasing  quantity,  to  lift  the  ore  from 
deepening  shafts  and  extract  the  gold  and  silver  from  it. 
Machinists  and  artisans  to  erect  mills,  scientific  men  to 
determine  so  far  as  they  might  from  the  surface  indi- 
cations the  trend  of  the  lode — its  deviation  from  a 
perpendicular  line  in  either  direction — to  invent  means 
for  supporting  the  rock  and  earth  when  the  mineral 
should  be  removed  from  beneath  it,  and  better  methods 
of  reducing  the  ore  when  brought  to  the  surface;  men  to 
provide  means  for  developing  the  mines  until  they 
should  pay  their  own  expenses,  as  well  as  men  to  work 
with  pick  and  shovel  and  men  to  direct  them,  would 
all  be  necessary;  and  with  them  all  the  multifarious 
craftsmen  and  tradesmen  who  would  supply  the  wants 
of  those  who  were  otherwise  profitably  employed,  would 
find  opportunity  for  profit. 

The  first  and  most  urgent  need  would  be  for  food. 
The  Mormon  farmers  and  stock  raisers  had  been  recalled 
to  Salt  Lake  in  1857,  and  obedient  to  the  call  they  had 


ORY  OF  CALII 


the  first  machine  of  the  kiuu  h 
cursor  of  m a r/'.*  others,  some  i 


ia,  and  the  pre- 
were  the  most 


1 


powerful  t'  ilt  up  to  that  time. 

Eve  pick  on  the  wonderful  lode 

inc:  in  its  wealth,  and  the  effect  on 

'^'  'o  be  exhibited  in  many  ways. 

across  the  mountains  in  greater 
I  ad  ever  before  gone  to  new  and 
equired  to  be  fed,  clothed,   and 
'  ^  and  implements  of  their  craft. 
d  in  immense  quantity  to  build 
iber  the  mines  as  they  should 
imoroved  machinery  would  be 
ity,  to  lift  the  ore  from 
"^Id  and  silver  from  i^ 
Is,  scientific  men  • 
from  the  surface  inci 
-its  deviation  from 
"■~n — to  invent  meant. 
vhcn  the  mineral 
ter  method: 
len  to 
pro  vide   i: 
should  ^  ^ 
with  p 

all  be  multifarioi 

.raftsmen  and  tr.  .1  supply  the  wants 

'  ' '  ~~e  who  were  clucivn  is.  piuu  laoly  employed,  woulr' 
nortimity  for  profit. 

:id  most  urgent  need  would  be  for  foo^ 
ormon  farmers  and  stock  raisers  had  been  recalle 
ke  in  1857,  and  obedient  to  the  call  they  had 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  231 

abandoned  their  farms  and  farm  buildings,  carrying 
only  so  much  of  their  property  as  was  portable. 
Supplies  for  thousands  must  be  sent  over  the  mountains 
and  roads  must  be  made  before  they  could  be  sent  by 
other  means  than  pack  animals.  Tools,  clothing  and 
other  supplies  could  go  up  the  river  from  San  Francisco 
to  Sacramento  by  boat,  thence  by  the  Sacramento 
valley  railroad  to  or  near  Folsom.  Beyond  Placerville 
there  was  some  sort  of  road;  some  of  the  immigrants 
had  been  coming  over  it  since  1849  and  Mr.  Greeley  had 
come  that  way  by  stage  in  1859,  worrying  much  during 
the  early  part  of  the  journey  lest  he  should  not  arrive 
at  Placerville  in  time  to  keep  a  lecture  engagement, 
and  more  during  the  latter  part  lest  he  might  arrive,  if 
he  arrived  at  all,  much  earlier  than  its  people  would  be 
looking  for  him.  This  road  was  soon  made  well  nigh 
impassable  by  grinding  wheels,  and  the  hurrying  feet 
of  men  and  animals  that  were  crowding  to  get  over  it. 
The  winter  of  1859-60  had  been  unusually  severe,  and 
even  "Snow  Shoe"  Thompson,  one  of  the  famous 
parcel  carriers  for  Wells,  Fargo,  &  Company,  could 
hardly  make  his  way  over  the  range  with  news  that  the 
store  of  supplies  of  the  miners  was  gradually  failing, 
and  there  was  no  hope  for  relief  for  them  but  from 
California.  Stores  of  flour,  bacon,  beans,  sugar,  and 
coffee  were  sent  forward  in  February  as  far  as  pack 
mules  could  flounder  through  the  snow  with  them,  and 
men  worked  and  struggled  as  bravely  as  others  had 
thirteen  years  earlier  to  relieve  the  gaunt  and  famishing 
remnant  of  the  Donner  party.  Finally  blankets  were 
spread  on  the  yielding  snow  and  the  loaded  animals  led 
for  many  miles  over  them  until  the  summit  was  passed. 


232  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

J.  Ross  Browne  made  a  trip  to  the  new  mines  eariy 
in  i860,  and  wrote  entertainingly  of  his  own  experience, 
and  that  of  others  who  like  himself  were  determined  to 
be  among  the  first  to  get  through.*  He  found  Placer- 
ville  crowded  with  miners  who  were  unable  to  find 
transportation  for  themselves  or  their  goods.  The  road 
which  had  been  partly  graded  as  far  as  Strawberry  Flat 
near  the  summit,  had  been  so  cut  up  by  the  melting 
snows  and  early  rains  as  to  be  impassable  for  wheeled 
vehicles;  saddle  horses  and  pack  animals  could  hardly 
pick  their  way  over  it  in  places.  All  the  stores  and 
warehouses,  and  even  the  streets  were  piled  with  goods 
awaiting  transportation.  Horses  and  mules  were  be- 
spoken for  days  in  advance;  and  so  like  many  others 
Browne  set  off  to  make  the  journey  on  foot.  He  was 
six  days  on  his  way  to  Carson  City.  All  along  the  way 
he  found  loaded  wagons  with  broken  wheels,  poles,  or 
axles,  often  half  buried  in  mud,  and  abandoned  by  their 
drivers.  Trains  of  pack  animals  picked  their  way  from 
one  dry  spot  to  another,  or  floundered  in  the  mud. 
Other  trains  of  horses  with  empty  saddles,  or  mules 
carrying  bags  of  ore,  were  met  coming  from  the  other 
direction;  and  when  the  meeting  occurred  on  a  narrow 
part  of  the  trail  some  were  crowded  over  steep  places 
into  the  canon. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  urgent  needs  of  the  time 
was  to  make  this  road  passable,  and  this  was  speedily 
done.  Later  as  the  mines  were  developed  and  the  need 
for  supplying  them  with  heavy  machinery,  as  well  as 
with  more  certain  and  rapid  communication  with  the 
sources  of  supply  became  apparent,  competent  engi- 

"Harpers  Magazine  for  December,  i36o,  and  January  and  February,  1861. 


LOS  ANGELES 
Fifth  and  Hill  streets.     The  building  on  the  corner  is  the 
California  Club. 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


J.  Ross  Browne  made  a  trip  to  the  new  mines  early 
in  i860,  and  wrote  entertainingly  of  his  own  experience, 
and  that  of  others  who  like  himself  were  determined  to 
be  among  the  first  to  get  through.*     He  found  Placer- 


ville  cro 
transpo 
which  had  \ 
near  the  sr 


J.-..-: 


one 

Other  t 

cai : 
direv.  ;iv 

part  of 

into  the  canon. 

One  of  the  i 

was  to  make  this  . 

done.     Later  as  th^  .........  ., 

,v,:,,o^s  who  were  unable  to  find 

tves  or  their  goods.     The  road 

graded  as  far  as  Strawberry  Flat 

been  so  cut  up  by  the  melting 

as  to  be  impassable  for  wheeled 

.„o  and  pack  animals  could  hardly 

IT  it  in  places.     All  the  stores  and 

en  the  streets  were  piled  with  goods 

>jI'j3oBp§&9s  and  mules  were  be- 

i'f6»df»:fii5raaii9T3£HiiKfcteiBnfiaiay  others 

e  the  journey  dri^d6ie?''^^e  was 

Carson  City.     All  along  the  wa} 

T  broken  wheels,  poles,  or 

rid  abandoned  by  their 

picked  their  way  from 

nidered  in  the  mud. 

saddles,  or  mules 

ng  from  the  other 

,.,.1  ^,.  o  narrow 

: '  places 


jf  the  time 

iinic  was  speedily 

...  .  sloped  and  the  need 

for  supplying  them  with  heavy  machinery,  as  well  as 

more  certain  and  rapid  communication  with  the 

sources  of  supply  became  apparent,  competent  engi- 

*Harptrs  Magazine  for  December,  i860,  and  January  and  February,  1861. 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  233 

neers  were  employed  to  reduce  the  grade  to  a  minimum, 
to  increase  its  width,  provide  turn  outs  and  turning 
points,  and  where  necessary  wall  them  up  with  stone; 
and  finally  to  macadamize  the  surface  so  that  the 
heaviest  loads  might  pass  over  them  with  the  least 
resistance.  Bridges  of  substantial  character  were  built 
where  necessary,  and  finally  the  whole  road  was  fre- 
quently watered  in  summer,  and  kept  clear  of  snow  in 
winter — all  at  the  expense  of  the  builders  who  collected 
toll  from  everything  that  went  over  it.  It  was  over 
this  road  that  trains  of  two  and  three  broad  tired 
wagons,  drawn  by  twelve,  fourteen,  and  sixteen  mules, 
and  loaded  with  the  stamps,  drills,  pumps,  engines  and 
other  heavy  machinery,  followed  each  other  continually. 
Over  it  went  also  men  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  men 
with  wheelbarrows  transporting  their  own  outfits,  men 
in  light  or  heavy  carriages  of  their  own,  farmers  with 
their  produce  and  droves  of  sheep,  hogs,  and  cattle,  as 
well  as  those  famous  stages  of  the  Pioneer  line,  drawn 
by  six  of  the  finest  horses  procurable,  and  driven  by 
the  Hank  Monks,  Curly  Dans,  and  Curly  Bills  who 
could  turn  the  six  at  a  gallop  in  a  city  street,  and  bring 
the  coach  to  a  stop  with  its  door  in  front  of  the  steps 
of  the  stage  ofiice.* 

The  schedule  time  from  Sacramento  to  Virginia  City 
— one  hundred  and  sixty-two  miles — was  three  days  in 

*Speaker  Colfax  and  his  party  consisted  of  Schuyler  Colfax,  Samuel  Bowles, 
editor  of  the  Springfield  "Republican,"  William  Bross  of  the  Chicago  "Tribune," 
who  had  been  lieutenant-governor  of  Illinois,  and  Albert  D.  Richardson  of  the 
New  York  "Tribune."  Mr.  Bowles  says  of  this  part  of  the  trip:  "With  six  horses, 
fresh  and  fast,  we  swept  up  the  hill  at  a  trot  and  rolled  down  again  at  their  sharpest 
gallop,  turning  abrupt  corners  without  a  pull-up,  twisting  among  and  by  the  loaded 
teams  of  freight  toiling  over  into  Nevada,  and  running  along  the  edge  of  high 
precipices,  as  deftly  as  the  skater  flies  or  the  steam  car  runs;  though  for  many  a 
moment  we  held  our  fainting  breath  at  what  seemed  great  risks  or  dare-devil 
performances.     Across  the  Continent,  p.  i66. 


234  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

i860,  says  Mr.  Shinn,  but  by  1863  it  had  been  reduced 
to  eighteen  hours,  and  passengers  could  go  through,  if 
they  wished,  without  stopping.  One  party  was  driven 
over  the  line  in  twelve  hours  and  twenty-three  minutes, 
but  this  was  by  a  special  arrangement.  The  stage 
company  kept  six  hundred  horses,  and  according  to  the 
Sacramento  "Union"  there  were  employed  on  the  line 
in  1863,  2,772  teams  with  a  total  of  14,652  animals. 
It  was  estimated  that  eighty-eight  million  pounds  of 
freight  went  over  the  road  in  a  single  year. 

In  time  other  roads  were  opened,  but  this  long 
remained  the  principal  artery  of  supply  for  the  Washoe 
district.  The  promoters  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad 
early  began  to  open  a  way  from  Dutch  Flat  to  Virginia 
City,  and  after  the  railroad  reached  the  former  point, 
a  large  part  of  the  trade  was  diverted  to  that  route. 
Still  another  ran  by  way  of  Nevada  through  Henness 
pass,  and  there  were  others  leading  into  one  or  the 
other  of  these,  by  which  farmers,  fruit  growers,  and 
producers  of  various  sorts  could  send  their  products  or 
their  wares  to  Virginia  and  Carson  cities.  There  was 
not  an  industry  in  middle  California  that  did  not  feel 
a  strong  quickening  impulse  from  the  development  of 
the  great  lode,  and  even  those  in  its  remoter  parts  got 
some  benefit  from  the  increased  demand  for  what  they 
could  supply. 

The  original  claimants  sold  out  their  prospects  to  the 
first  speculators  to  arrive,  and  usually  for  very  small 
amounts.  McLaughlin  is  said  to  have  got  ^3,500, 
Penrod  ^8,500,  Comstock  ^11,000  and  O'Riley  ^40,000. 
All  spent  their  money  freely  and  were  soon  as  poor 
as  they  had  ever  been.     Comstock  managed,  with  his 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  235 

usual  bluster  to  convince  some  that  he  was  the  discov- 
erer of  the  lode,  and  so  to  attach  his  name  to  it,  and  as 
a  town  grew  or  began  to  grow  up  on  it,  it  was  named 
for  one  of  his  cronies  known  as  "Old  Virginia,"  but 
about  whose  lawful  patronymic  there  will  always  be 
some  doubt.  It  was  in  these  early  days,  also,  that  the 
name  of  Sun  mountain  was  changed,  becoming  Mount 
Davidson,  in  honor  of  a  San  Francisco  banker  and 
agent  for  the  Rothschilds. 

Of  the  thousands  of  claims  located  only  about  twenty 
ever  became  mines,  and  some  of  these  never  paid 
dividends.  The  famous  few  that  produced  ore  in  fabu- 
lous quantities  were  located  on  the  outcroppings  of  the 
lode.  From  these  selected  ore  was  at  first  sent  to  San 
Francisco  where  it  was  reduced  at  some  profit,  although 
the  cost  of  shipping  the  first  forty  tons  was  ^24,000. 
As  rapidly  as  possible  stamps,  settling  pans,  engines, 
boilers,  and  other  machinery  were  sent  over  the 
mountains.  Between  June  12th  and  August  11,  i860, 
twenty-four  stamps  were  in  operation.  Three  days 
later  another  mill  with  nine  stamps  was  started,  and 
by  the  end  of  1861  seventy-six  mills  with  eleven  hundred 
and  fifty-three  stamps  were  in  operation.  These  mills 
were  enlarged  and  others  added  from  time  to  time  until 
they  were  capable  of  crushing  and  treating  more  than 
fifty-seven  thousand  tons  of  ore  per  month,  and  their 
engines,  with  those  employed  at  the  mines,  had  a  com- 
bined capacity  of  twenty-one  thousand  horse  power. 

As  development  of  the  lode  progressed  four  principal 
needs  became  apparent — for  wood,  water,  lumber,  and 
improved  machinery.  In  the  whole  Washoe  region 
there  was  little  wood  and  less  water.     As  the  miners 


236  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

sunk  their  shafts  deeper  and  deeper  on  the  lode,  and 
extended  their  drifts  and  cross-cuts  on  the  various 
levels,  the  need  for  stronger  timbers  to  retain  the  walls 
and  support  the  immense  weight  of  earth  and  rock 
above  them  increased.  There  had  been  much  need  of 
lumber  to  build  houses  when  the  first  rush  of  miners 
came,  and  there  was  greater  need  now  that  mills  and 
shaft  houses  were  to  be  built.  The  early  saw  mills  had 
cut  away  most  of  the  nut  pines  growing  in  the  canons 
and  ravines,  and  had  there  been  more  of  them,  they 
would  no  longer  have  served  in  places  where  the  demand 
was  largest  and  most  urgent.  A  time  came  when  eighty 
million  feet  of  lumber  went  annually  into  the  chambers 
and  drifts  of  the  lode,  besides  hundreds  of  thousands 
more  that  were  required  for  buildings  above  ground; 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cords  of  wood  were 
burned  under  the  boilers  that  supplied  the  power  to 
keep  mines  and  mills  in  operation.  This  vast  supply 
could  not  be  hauled  over  the  mountains  in  wagons — 
though  where  particularly  strong  timbers  were  procured 
from  Oregon  and  Puget  Sound  they  were  transported 
in  that  way.  There  was  good  timber  on  the  eastern 
wall  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  this  was  cut  and  hauled 
to  the  mills  near  the  mines  for  a  time,  but  the  process 
was  too  expensive.  The  cost  of  road  making  was 
enormous  and  the  winter  rains  made  the  cost  of  repair 
and  rebuilding  almost  as  great,  so  fluming  was  resorted 
to.  A  "V"  shaped  trough,  deep  enough  to  carry  logs 
of  considerable  size,  and  in  one  case  fifteen  miles  long, 
was  built  along  the  mountain  side  by  a  more  or  less 
regular  incline;  so  that  when  filled  with  water  from  a 
mountain  stream,  whatever  was  put  into  it,  whether 


SAN  DIEGO 
Scene  on  Fifth  street.     Photograph   by  H.  C.  Tibbitts, 
Sunset  Magazine. 


mils  hac' 
the  canons; 


^u  ..^     *u 


me  when  eight) 
into  the  chamber 


power  to 
fhis  vast  su 


transporte 


of  repa 
/as  resortt 

Lv;.     . '.     V  o  carry  lo^ 

of  con  side:  miles  Ion. 


incline;  sc  /hen  hiied  with  water  from 

vvnatt  ^  put  into  it,  whethf 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  237 

logs,  lumber,  or  cord  wood,  went  flying  through  it  to  the 
lower  end,  where  it  was  landed  without  much  damage; 
thence  it  was  hauled  to  the  mines  in  wagons.  There  were 
ten  of  these  flumes  in  operation  in  1880,  with  a  total 
length  of  eighty  miles.  Two  million  feet  of  lumber  had 
been  used  in  constructing  one  of  them,  and  thirty-three 
million  feet,  besides  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  thou- 
sand cords  of  wood  had  passed  through  them  that  year. 

Water  to  supply  the  city  was  also  brought  from  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  much  of  the  way  in  an  open  flume, 
though  at  one  place  a  valley  nearly  seven  miles  wide  and 
seventeen  hundred  and  twenty  feet  deep  had  to  be 
crossed,  requiring  an  inverted  siphon  of  steel  pipe  that 
could  withstand  a  pressure  of  eight  hundred  pounds  to 
the  square  inch  at  the  deepest  part.  This  was  devised, 
and  by  it  the  valley  was  crossed  successfully. 

There  were  eighteen  paying  mines  on  the  lode  from 
which  the  ore  was  hoisted  through  perpendicular  shafts, 
or  in  places  through  inclines  that  followed  its  dip;  and  as 
they  sunk  deeper  and  deeper  with  their  shafts,  cross- 
cuts, and  tunnels  extending  for  many  miles,  the  difficul- 
ties of  miners  and  managers  increased.  The  lode  was 
wider  than  any  with  which  mining  engineers  of  the  time 
were  acquainted — in  some  places  nearly  a  thousand  feet. 
Not  all  of  the  mass  between  the  walls  was  paying  ore, 
but  much  of  it  that  did  not  pay  required  to  be  removed. 
In  all,  or  nearly  all  the  mines,  bonanzas  were  found — 
masses  of  very  high  grade  ore  of  lenticular  shape, 
hundreds  of  feet  in  length,  by  two  or  three  hundred  feet 
wide  at  the  broadest  part  and  five  or  six  hundred  deep. 
This  ore  was  generally  so  soft  that  pillars  of  it  could 
not  be  left  to  support  the  mountain  mass  above  it. 


238  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  utmost  cunning  of  the  ablest  engineers  was  required 
to  devise  means,  even  with  the  strongest  timbers,  to 
prevent  the  walls  and  roof  from  closing  in  as  these  great 
masses  were  removed — to  replace  them  when  they  were 
crushed  by  the  enormous  pressure,  and  to  guard  them 
from  iire.  At  the  same  time  another  and  equally  per- 
sistent obstacle  was  to  be  contended  with.  Water,  of 
which  there  was  a  dearth  at  the  surface,  was  super- 
abundant in  the  lower  levels.  It  seeped  through  the 
walls  on  all  sides,  and  sometimes  burst  into  the  tunnels 
in  floods  when  some  miner,  unconscious  of  his  danger, 
struck  his  pick  through  the  wall  of  a  hidden  reservoir. 
Worst  of  all,  this  water  was  hot,  and  grew  hotter  as 
greater  depth  was  reached.  It  could  only  be  got  rid  of 
by  pumping,  and  pumps  of  increased  power  were  con- 
tinually in  demand.  The  little  engine  of  fifteen  horse 
power  that  had  first  been  sufficient  for  all  purposes  in 
the  Ophir  mine  near  the  north  end  of  the  lode,  was  in 
no  very  great  while  replaced  by  one  of  forty-five,  and 
that  in  turn  by  others  until  machines  of  two  hundred, 
five  hundred,  and  even  one  thousand  horse  power  are 
in  use  in  the  mines. 

Many  of  these  powerful  pumps  and  engines,  as  well  as 
other  appliances  used  on  the  Comstock,  were  invented 
to  meet  its  needs,  and  the  building  of  them  gave  em- 
ployment to  large  numbers  of  men.  It  also  gave  an 
immense  impetus  to  the  growth  of  the  machine  shops 
of  San  Francisco  and  the  cities  of  the  interior,  many  of 
which  had  profitable  part  in  it. 

It  was  early  seen  that  a  time  must  come,  if  the 
bottom  of  the  lode  was  not  reached,  when  pumps  could 
no  longer  relieve  the  mines  of  water;  and  a  man  not 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  239 

then  supposed  to  know  much  about  mines  or  mining 
proposed  to  build  a  tunnel  nearly  four  miles  long,  from 
the  floor  of  the  Carson  valley  to  strike  the  lode  some 
eighteen  hundred  feet  below  the  surface.  This  man 
was  Adolph  Sutro,  and  his  tunnel  was  not  only  to  drain 
the  mines,  but  permit  the  ore  to  be  taken  out  through 
it.  The  mine  owners  at  first  approved  his  plan,  and 
made  contracts  agreeing  to  pay  him  two  dollars  per 
ton  royalty  on  all  the  ore  mined.  With  these  contracts 
Sutro,  who  then  had  no  capital  of  his  own,  set  to  work 
to  raise  the  ^4,000,0000  or  ^5,000,000  that  the  tunnel 
would  cost.  A  company  was  organized  and  authority 
procured  from  the  state  of  Nevada,  and  the  national 
government,  to  proceed  with  the  work.  All  seemed  to 
be  proceeding  favorably  u'ntil  those  in  control  of  the 
mines  suddenly  changed  their  minds,  revoked  their 
contracts  and  determined  to  oppose  the  undertaking. 

Sutro  was  now  left  alone  to  proceed  with  his  work, 
and  he  must  thenceforth  encounter  opposition  where 
he  had  expected  assistance.  The  capitalists  in  New 
York  and  elsewhere,  with  whom  he  had  opened  nego- 
tiations, refused  to  consider  the  matter  further.  He 
applied  to  congress  for  a  loan  or  to  guarantee  his 
bonds  and  for  a  time  seemed  likely  to  succeed,  but 
other  matters  prevented  favorable  action.  He  went 
to  Europe  to  consult  bankers  who  were  favorably 
inclined  toward  American  investments,  but  for  a  long 
time  found  more  opposition  than  encouragement. 
Finally  he  returned  to  Virginia  City  and  appealed  to 
the  miners  who  worked  in  the  drifts  and  tunnels,  telling 
them  how  much  his  tunnel  would  lessen  the  terrible 
heat  in  which  they  were  compelled  to  work,  and  the 


240  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed.  The  miners 
raised  $50,000  by  small  contributions  to  be  paid  reg- 
ularly from  their  wages,  and  with  this  Sutro  began 
work  in  October,  1865.  Later  he  was  able  to  secure 
$1,450,000  from  some  English  investors  and  work  was 
pushed  more  vigorously.  It  had  been  planned  to  sink 
four  shafts  along  the  line  of  the  tunnel  and  to  push  the 
work  in  both  directions  from  each  of  these  as  well  as 
from  the  outer  end;  but  so  much  water  came  into  the 
two  nearest  the  lode  that  no  pump  could  keep  them 
clear  of  it  and  they  had  to  be  abandoned;  and  the  other 
two  were  often  rendered  useless  by  the  same  cause. 
New  means  were  invented  to  expedite  the  work  and 
during  1875  and  1876  a  monthly  average  progress  of 
over  three  hundred  feet  was  made. 

Meantime  men  in  the  mines  were  suffering  more  and 
more  from  increasing  heat,  and  the  cost  of  pumping 
steadily  advanced.  New  inbursts  of  water  sometimes 
flooded  the  lower  levels  exposing  the  miners  to  greater 
dangers;  occasionally  a  pump  broke  down  and  the 
rising  flood  drove  them  from  their  work  while  the  in- 
creased heat  made  the  air  stifling.  Tons  of  ice  were 
sent  into  the  mines  daily.  In  some  of  the  leads  men 
could  work  only  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time;  frequently 
one  or  another  would  be  overcome  by  the  heat  when 
they  would  be  carried  by  their  companions  to  places 
of  safety. 

In  the  tunnel  conditions  were  almost  equally  trying. 
As  the  work  neared  completion  the  temperature  rose 
to  114°  at  the  end  nearest  the  mines.  At  last  the  men 
deep  down  in  the  lowest  levels  began  to  hear  the  blasts 
by  which  the  rock  was  blown  down  in  the  tunnel;  then 


SAN  DIEGO 

The  Plaza 


ORY 


:s    CO    ^ 

I.       iiic   miners 

...  ^50  nr:: 

to  be  paid  reg- 

ular) 

V    fr< 

no   Sutro  began 

w 

rs  aiid  work  w 

pu 

fo 

■    -^"ed  to  si; 
>  push  t'; 

W'.: 

these  as  well  ;; 
much  water  came  into  the 

them 

,....,.. _,  ^..^  .„e  other 

seless  by  the  same  caus 

expedite  the  work  ar: 

r  vfjtgiichly  average  progress  v 

•i    ^,rr  -■■■■-■■■■  '■■ 

-uffering  more  ar 
cost  of  pumpln 
vvater  sometim- 
liners  to  greater 
•own  and  tbf" 
/hile   the  i ' 
ice  wc 

wher 

ould  1 

ns  to  plac 

oi  safety. 

i  equally  trying 

..^...-^ ..._.._.>  .....  .emperature  ro? 

end  nearest  the  mines.     At  last  the  me 

the  lov  -Is  began  to  hear  the  blast 

the  rock  was  blown  down  in  the  tunnel;  tht 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  241 

they  could  hear  the  drills  at  work,  and  finally  on  July  8, 
1878,  a  way  was  opened  into  the  mines  through  which 
Sutro  himself  was  first  to  pass. 

The  great  work  was  at  last  finished  after  nearly  nine 
years  of  persistent  effort.  The  mine  owners  still  insisted 
that  they  had  no  need  for  and  would  not  use  it;  but  a 
few  days  later  a  great  pump  in  one  of  the  mines  broke 
down  and  the  whole  lode  seemed  about  to  be  flooded. 
Hundreds  of  men  were  set  to  work  to  turn  the  water 
into  the  tunnel,  but  Sutro  quickly  erected  a  bulkhead 
and  stopped  them.  Nature  was  now  working  on  the 
side  of  the  tunnel  builder  and  his  victory  was  speedily 
won.  A  compromise  was  effected  and  the  tunnel  began 
to  perform  the  work  for  which  it  had  been  created. 

The  early  prospectors  of  claims  on  the  Comstock  sold 
interests  in  them  to  later  arrivals  at  steadily  advancing 
prices.  The  rules  made  by  the  prospectors  themselves 
had  fixed  the  size  of  claims  at  fifty  feet  square.  Specu- 
lators bought  a  number  of  these  claims,  consolidated 
them  under  new  names  and  sold  them  by  the  foot 
measured  on  the  lode.  Gould,  one  of  the  early  owners 
of  Gould  and  Curry,  which  later  yielded  more  than 
^15,000,000,  sold  his  interest  for  ^450,  and  boasted  that 
he  had  got  the  best  of  the  San  Francisco  speculators. 
He  lived  to  see  the  property  selling  for  more  per  inch 
than  he  had  received  for  his  half  interest.  Speculation 
in  feet  and  inches  soon  became  so  active  and  exciting 
in  Virginia  City  that  it  went  on  night  and  day.  Ross 
Browne,  who  had  secured  accommodations  at  the  prin- 
cipal hotel  on  arriving — the  accommodation  consisting 
of  space  enough  on  the  floor  of  a  saloon  to  wrap  himself 
in  his  own  blankets — found  himself  unable  to  sleep 


242  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

because  of  the  noisy  buyers  and  sellers,  and  betook 
himself  to  a  prospect  hole  in  the  side  of  Mount  Davidson 
where  there  was  less  noise  and  the  bed  equally  soft. 
As  the  speculating  went  on,  men  were  at  work  on  the 
lode  in  ever  increasing  numbers,  and  all  they  did  in- 
creased confidence  in  its  richness.  Its  fame  spread 
rapidly  and  people  who  had  no  desire  to  visit  it  began 
to  seek  opportunity  to  share  in  its  prospective  wealth. 
There  were  at  the  time  a  few  brokers  in  San  Francisco 
who  dealt  in  city  scrip,  steamboat,  railroad,  wharf,  and 
gas  stocks ;  and  sometimes  a  customer  would  apply  to  one 
of  them  for  a  few  feet  in  some  mining  property.  They 
had  as  yet  no  regular  place  for  trading,  but  when  one 
of  them  got  an  order  to  buy  he  hunted  among  other 
brokers'  oifices  until  he  found  some  one  who  wanted  to 
sell.*  Customers  for  interests  in  the  Comstock  soon 
became  so  numerous  that  the  San  Francisco  Stock  and 
Exchange  Board  was  organized  on  September  ii,  1862, 
with  forty  members.  Two  other  boards  were  organized 
later,  but  the  Exchange  board  became  and  remained 
for  several  years  one  of  the  famous  institutions  of  the 
country.  For  a  time  its  members  continued  to  buy 
and  sell  mines  by  the  foot,  but  as  mining  companies 
were  one  after  another  incorporated,  interests  in  them 
were  bought  and  sold  by  shares  only.  When  the  mines 
began  to  pay  dividends  confidence  in  their  shares  in- 
creased, people  of  all  classes  began  to  trade  in  them, 
and  the  business  of  the  board  ran  into  millions  every 
month.  Other  properties  than  mines  continued  to  be 
dealt  in,  though  mining  shares  were  chiefly  bought  and 


*Joseph  L.  King,  History  of  the  San  Francisco  Stock  and  Exchange  Board,  San 
Francisco,  igio. 


THE  COiMSTOCK  LODE  243 

sold.  Everything  bought  was  paid  for  in  gold  or  silver, 
and  during  the  years  when  greenbacks  were  at  a  dis- 
count, and  the  Gold  board  in  New  York  became  famous, 
the  San  Francisco  board  sometimes  bought  and  sold 
greenbacks. 

When  the  telegraph  lines  reached  Virginia  City  and 
were  finally  completed  across  the  continent  in  1861, 
news  from  the  Comstock  was  received  almost  continu- 
ally and  sometimes  it  greatly  affected  the  prices  of 
stocks.  When  a  bonanza  was  struck  in  any  mine  the 
price  of  its  stock  went  up  rapidly  and  that  of  others 
in  its  neighborhood  was  generally  improved.  When 
adverse  news  came  it  naturally  had  a  depressing  eifect 
and  those  who  had  bought  at  high  prices  lost  money; 
but  even  those  who  lost  most  heavily  usually  did  not 
give  up  speculating  as  long  as  they  could  find  money 
enough  for  a  new  venture. 

In  June,  1864,  the  Bank  of  California  was  organized 
with  a  capital  of  ^5,000,000  and  with  William  C. 
Ralston  its  cashier  and  principal  executive  officer.  Soon 
afterwards  William  Sharon  went  to  Virginia  City  as 
its  representative  and  opened  a  branch  office  there. 
Money  had  been  loaned  up  to  that  time  to  the  mining 
and  milling  companies  at  an  average  rate  of  three  per 
cent  a  month,  but  Sharon  offered  it  in  large  sums  at 
one  and  one-half  and  soon  took  the  larger  part  of  the 
business.  Then  he  began  to  acquire  stamp  mills,  some 
by  purchase  and  some  by  the  failure  of  their  owners  to 
repay  advances  he  had  made  to  them — and  in  time 
organized  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company  which 
reduced  a  large  part  of  the  ore  produced  by  the  largest 
mines.     He  also  acquired  the  city  water  works  and 


244  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

built  the  Virginia  and  Truckee  railroad,  connecting 
Virginia  City  with  the  Central  Pacific  at  Reno.  Backed 
as  he  was  naturally  believed  to  be  by  the  bank  and  its 
numerous  wealthy  patrons,  he  became  the  most  power- 
ful factor  in  the  development  and  exploitation  of  the 
great  lode.  His  control  of  mills  and  reduction  works 
brought  him  into  close  relations  with  the  mines,  and 
gave  him  unequalled  facilities  for  finding  out  at  the 
earliest  moment  any  change  in  their  prospects.  He  had 
been  a  member  of  the  stock  board  in  San  Francisco  and 
this  information  he  well  knew  how  to  use.  Brokers 
and  other  people  interested  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks 
— and  these  at  one  time  comprised  nearly  all  the  people 
in  San  Francisco  and  central  California — knew  this,  and 
watched  as  eagerly  for  every  circumstance  that  might 
give  some  indication  of  what  he  or  those  associated 
with  him  were  doing  in  the  market,  as  for  any  news 
that  might  come  direct  from  the  furthest  working  in 
the  mines.  When  the  bank  crowd — as  Sharon  and 
those  who  usually  operated  with  him  came  to  be  known 
— were  found  to  be  buying  the  stock  of  some  property, 
it  was  assumed  that  they  would  seek  to  control,  and 
that  meant  that  it  was  worth  controlling,  or  would  be, 
and  those  who  made  the  discovery  would  buy.  But 
those  who  did  so  did  not  always  win.  There  was  a 
contest  for  Hale  and  Norcross  in  1868,  when  the 
property  was  still  sold  by  the  foot,  and  the  price 
rose  from  $2,825  to  $7,100  in  a  single  week;  a  month 
later  the  price  had  fallen  to  $2,900.  At  that  time,  says 
Mr.  King,  the  saying  that  "when  giants  are  striving 
for  the  mastery  it  is  wiser  for  small  fry  to  stand  on  one 


WILLIAM  CHAPMAN  RALSTON 
Born  at  Wellsville,  Ohio,  January  12,  1826;  died  at  San 
Francisco,  August  27,  1875;  came  to  California  in  1854  as 
agent,  with  Ralph  S.  Fretz,  of  a  line  of  steamers  operating 
between  Panama  and  San  Francisco.  In  1855  he  organized 
the  banking  house  of  Garrison,  Morgan,  Fretz,  and  Ralston, 
which  later  became  Donohoe,  Ralston,  and  Company,  and 
in  1864,  he  organized  the  Bank  of  California,  of  which  he  was 
first  cashier  and  then  president. 


244  ORY 

built  the  Virginia  and  Tnickee   railroad,   c<_.. 
Virginia  City  with  i:  Be  at  Reno.    L 

as  he  was  naturally  believed  to  be  by  the  bank  and  its 
numc  "  '  he  bee 

lines,  and 

>-.  for  fi  at  the 


o  use.     Brok 


'^  ntiiipT  t    ni!  f  h  t 


irig  in 
'irae  to  be 


rose  irom  ^^2,825  to  $7,100  in  a  single  week 

'      '  at  tini^ 
^   Ljic:  bci^'i  .  are  si 

:«;tcrv  it  is  ^fancl 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  245 

side,"  passed  into  a  proverb  among  the  stock  specu- 
lators. There  was  a  similar  contest  for  Ophir  in  1874 
and  in  various  other  mines  at  other  times. 

Bonanzas  had  been  found  in  several  of  the  mines 
during  the  first  ten  years  after  active  operations  began 
on  the  lode,  but  none  had  been  found  in  Crown  Point. 
John  P.  Jones,  afterwards  senator  from  Nevada,  was 
superintendent  of  this  mine,  and  its  principal  owner 
was  Alvinza  Hayward,  who  was  his  relative.  Jones  had 
had  some  mining  experience  in  northern  California,  and 
Hayward  had  made  a  fortune  by  persistently  following 
a  lead  in  Amador  county,  long  after  everybody  else  had 
declared  it  could  never  by  any  possibility  prove  to  be 
a  thing  of  value.  Some  paying  ore  had  been  found  in 
Crown  Point  when  it  was  opened  but  later  its  drifts 
and  tunnels  ran  mainly  in  barren  rock.  Dividends 
ceased  and  assessments  followed.  The  stock  became 
almost  unsalable,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  machinery  in  the  mine  had  cost  ^140,000  the  total 
value  of  the  stock  was  only  $24,000.  But  late  in  1870 
a  cross-cut  on  the  1,100  foot  level  entered  a  soft  gray 
quartz  that  proved  to  be  very  rich.  It  was  struck  again 
by  a  cross-cut  one  hundred  feet  lower,  and  eventually 
proved  to  be  the  richest  of  all  the  bonanzas  so  far  found. 
The  stock  that  had  been  so  little  sought  advanced  to 
$1,825  per  share,  and  by  May,  1877,  the  mine  had 
yielded  nearly  $25,000,000. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  the  bonanzas  was  not  yet 
discovered.  Twelve  so  far  had  been  found,  some  of 
them  vastly  rich,  but  one  still  remained  hidden  in  the 
lode  that  was  to  eclipse  them  all — to  yield  nearly  one- 
third  of  its  total  product. 


246  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Among  the  miners  who  had  crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada 
soon  after  the  wonderful  richness  of  the  Comstock  had 
been  reported  were  two  who  would  make  the  most  of 
the  opportunities  the  lode  had  to  offer.  They  were 
John  W.  Mackay  and  James  G.  Fair.  Neither  had  any 
money,  or  at  least  not  much.  They  were  merely  prac- 
tical mining  men,  so  far  as  men  had  found  opportunity 
to  become  practical  at  that  time,  when  quartz  mining 
was  but  little  understood  in  California  or  elsewhere. 
They  worked  with  other  miners  in  the  shafts  and  tun- 
nels, but  kept  their  eyes  open  for  indications  that  would 
be  of  value  in  leading  to  the  discovery  of  richer  ore; 
saved  something  from  their  wages  and  bought  stock 
in  such  mines  as  seemed  to  be  most  promising.  Their 
employment  and  their  acquaintance  among  other  min- 
ers gave  them  opportunity  to  find  out  much  about  all 
the  mines  and  they  knew  how  to  make  the  information 
valuable  to  themselves  and  their  associates. 

Interested  with  them  then  or  later  were  James  C. 
Flood  and  William  S.  O'Brien,  who  then  owned  and 
kept  a  saloon  in  San  Francisco,  but  had  an  inclination 
to  speculate  in  mining  stocks,  and  knew  the  value  of 
having  reliable  information  to  guide  them  in  making 
their  ventures.  As  time  progressed  the  firm,  as  it  was 
known,  bought  and  sold  with  profit  and  owned  consider- 
able interests  in  some  of  the  most  profitable  properties. 

Previous  to  1872  there  was  a  part  of  the  lode  1,310 
feet  long  lying  between  mines  that  had  paid  well,  both 
north  and  south  of  it,  and  on  which  considerable  money 
had  been  spent  by  various  owners  without  finding  any- 
thing of  much  value.  Fair  and  Mackay  bought  up 
this  property  and  organized  with  it  the  Consolidated 


THE  "BONANZA"  FIRi\I 

John  W.  Mackay  James  C.  Flood 

James  G.  Fair  Wm.  S.  O'Brien 

Mackay  was  born  at  Dublin,  Ireland,  November  29,  1831; 
Fair  was  born  at  Clougher,  County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  Decem- 
ber, 183 1 ;  Flood  was  a  nativeof  New  York;  O'Brien  was  born 
in  Ireland. 


•'^kl  boi 


'■rn  ..rra^ii;:  I)::.  .    aboUt   all 

c  I  k^4!lfe"inf ormation 


>ropen 
i-.  '    ''i  1,31c. 


ble  moi 
t  finding  a- 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  247 

Virginia  Mining  Company.  They  had  a  tunnel  driven 
from  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  through  the  Best 
and  Belcher — which  they  and  Flood  and  O'Brien 
controlled — into  this  property  at  a  depth  of  1,167 
feet,  and  found  in  it  a  body  of  surprisingly  rich  ore. 
Without  making  their  discovery  known  they  divided 
the  property  into  two  companies,  the  Consolidated 
Virginia  and  California,  with  108,000  shares  each. 
They  sunk  a  shaft  to  meet  their  tunnel  from  the  Gould 
and  Curry  and  at  a  depth  of  1,500  feet  encountered  the 
ore  body,  which  a  cross-cut  showed  to  be  growing 
wider,  while  some  of  the  ore  assayed  $630  per  ton. 

No  effort  appears  to  have  been  made  so  far  to 
encourage  trading  in  the  stock  of  either  the  Consoli- 
dated Virginia  or  California;  but  the  fact  that  a  body 
of  paying  ore  had  been  struck  was  known,  and  the 
stock  of  the  former  advanced  to  ^i  15  per  share,  making 
the  value  of  the  mine  ^13,570,000.  One  month  later 
the  stock  sold  at  $610  per  share,  and  that  of  California 
at  ^780;  making  the  total  value  of  both  mines  in  the 
market  ^159,840,000. 

The  ore  body  extended  well  through  both  mines,  and 
was  not  only  the  largest  but  the  richest  that  had  been 
struck.  The  main  difficulty  about  removing  it  was  to 
find  means  to  support  the  ground  above  it  when  the  ore 
was  taken  out,  though  the  work  was  much  hampered 
by  water,  which  came  into  the  mine  very  hot  and  the 
miners  suffered  very  much  in  consequence.  Immense 
quantities  of  the  heaviest  timbers  were  used.  Skilful 
engineers  piled  them  in  huge  pyramids,  in  such  manner 
as  to  best  resist  the  strain,  and  yet  there  was  often 
danger  of  their  giving  way.     The  work  of  quarrying  and 


248  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

removing  the  ore  was  pushed  to  the  utmost.  Twelve 
thousand  tons  had  been  taken  out  in  1873;  i^  ^^74, 
91,000;  in  1875,  169,000;  and  in  1876,  142,000.  Then 
the  output  began  to  lessen.  During  six  years,  however, 
bullion  to  the  value  of  ^60,732,882  had  been  taken  from 
Consolidated  Virginia  and  ^43,727,831  from  California; 
the  two  mines  had  paid  in  dividends  $73,170,000.* 

Meantime  all  classes  of  people  in  San  Francisco  and 
many  other  places  in  California,  and  even  beyond  it, 
had  been  buying  and  selling  stocks.  At  every  session 
the  stock  exchange  was  the  scene  of  intense  activity 
and  excitement.  Men  of  means — merchants,  bankers, 
and  business  men  in  all  lines — bought  largely,  while 
clerks,  laborers,  teamsters,  and  servant  girls  bought 
what  they  could.  A  few  sold  while  they  could  do  so 
with  profit,  and  thus  secured  a  moderate  competence, 
or  perhaps  even  wealth;  many  refused  to  sell  even  at  the 
highest  prices.  Mr.  King  tells  of  a  man  named  Sullivan 
who  owned  a  hundred  shares  of  Consolidated  Virginia 
which  he  had  bought  at  $8  per  share;  one  day  Mr.  Flood 
offered  him  $680  per  share  for  them,  which,  after 
a  night's  reflection  he  decided  to  accept,  saying  that  a 
check  for  $680,000  seemed  like  a  pretty  large  one.  On 
the  other  hand  a  coachman,  who  at  one  time  held  stocks 
to  the  value  of  more  than  $1,000,000  refused  to  sell  and 
finally  was  as  poor  as  when  he  began. 

During  the  years — from  1861  to  1879 — while  the 
Comstock  mines  were  most  productive,  most  of  them 
were  involved  in  litigation.  The  Ophir  mine  at  one 
time  was  plaintiff  or  defendant  in  thirty-seven  suits. 
Yellow  Jacket  had  thirty-two.   Savage,  twenty-nine, 

•These  figures  are  Mr.  Shina's. 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  249 

Gould  and  Curry,  twenty,  while  other  mines  had  from 
nine  to  seventeen.  Most  of  these  involved  the  title  to 
all  or  considerable  parts  of  very  valuable  properties. 

The  early  prospectors  had  made  laws  or  rules, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  for  the  government 
of  the  camp.  These  had  fixed  the  size  of  claims  and 
the  method  of  marking  and  describing  them;  and  a 
recorder  had  been  appointed  to  make  a  record  of  these 
descriptions.  But  it  happened  that  the  recorder  had 
been  a  very  careless  personage,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  leave  his  record  book  at  the  saloon  he  chiefly 
patronized,  where  prospectors  having  claims  to  record 
took  such  liberties  with  it  as  seemed  good  to  them. 
Sometimes  they  changed  the  descriptions  previously 
recorded,  and  sometimes  they  tore  out  a  leaf  or  two  if 
to  their  advantage  to  do  so.  In  this  way  titles  and 
descriptions  became  very  much  involved.  There  was 
conflict  also  between  American  and  Spanish  law,  or 
rather  custom — for  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  there  was 
any  law  to  govern  the  matter  at  the  time — as  to  the 
rights  of  claimants  who  had  made  locations  in  a  true 
fissure  vein  or  lode.  Such  veins  rarely  if  ever  stand 
upright,  but  incline  to  one  side  or  the  other  as  they 
descend,  and  this  inclination  is  called  its  dip.  Under 
the  American  law  or  custom  the  locator  claimed  the 
right  to  follow  the  vein  wherever  it  led;  under  the 
Spanish  law  he  was  entitled  only  to  such  part  of  it  as 
lay  beneath  the  ground  included  within  the  limits  of 
his  claim  as  recorded.  The  first  locators  on  the  Com- 
stock  had  included  as  much  as  possible  of  its  visible 
outcroppings  in  their  claims;  after  it  had  all  been  so 


250  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

taken  up,  others  came  who  filed  claims  on  either  side 
of  them,  expecting  that  the  vein  would  dip  either  in 
one  direction  or  the  other,  and  hoping  it  might  dip 
under  their  locations.  It  did  in  fact  dip  in  both  direc- 
tions—first to  the  west  toward  Mount  Davidson,  to  a 
depth  of  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  and  then  toward 
the  east  so  far  as  it  has  ever  been  explored.  It  also 
had  angles  and  spurs,  offshoots  or  splinters  from  the 
main  vein,  and  title  to  these  was  hotly  contested.  Some 
of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  California*  were  employed  in 
these  suits,  and  in  the  end  they  were  passed  upon  by 
able  judges.  As  a  result  the  mining  laws,  so  far  as  they 
pertain  to  the  kind  of  mining  followed  on  the  Comstock, 
were  for  the  first  time  permanently  fixed  and  defined. 

When  systematic  work  on  the  lode  began  but  few  of 
the  machines  which  miners  now  use  for  extracting  and 
reducing  the  ore  had  been  invented  and  methods  of 
saving  the  gold  and  silver  it  contained  were  crude 
indeed.  Many  if  not  most  of  the  really  useful  mining 
machines  and  methods  were  first  used  on  the  Comstock, 
and  some  were  practically  invented  and  perfected  there. 
The  methods  of  working  the  ores  are  peculiar.  The 
mills  belong  to  separate  corporations;  they  make  a 
large  charge  for  working  the  ores  and  are  only  required 
to  return  to  the  mining  companies  sixty-five  per  cent 
of  the  assay  value  of  the  ores.     The  residue — -thirty- 

*Among  them  were  William  M.  Stewart,  Harry  I.  Thornton,  Alexander  W. 
Baldwin,  Will  Campbell,  Charles  H.  Bryan,  Charles  E.  DeLong,  R.  S.  Mesick,  B.  C. 
Whitman,  W.  E.  F.  Deal,  R.  N.  Taylor,  Tod  Robinson,  H.  O.  Beatty,  James  H. 
Hardy,  John  Garber,  H.  K.  Mitchell,  Thomas  ?I.  Williams,  A.  P.  Crittenden, 
Thomas  Sunderland,  W.  S.  Wood,  C.  J.  Hillyer,  Thomas  P.  Hawley,  J.  V.  Lewis, 
C.  M.  Brosnan,  Charles  H.  Belknap,  Adrian  C.  Ellis,  and  Jonas  Seeley. 


THE  COMSTOCK  LODE  251 

five  per  cent — belongs  to  the  milling  companies  who 
work  the  "tailings,"  as  they  are  called,  for  their 
own  profit. 

Some  of  the  mining  machines  and  appliances  invented 
and  manufactured  for  use  on  the  Comstock  were  far  in 
advance  of  any  that  had  ever  before  been  thought  of, 
and  they  have  been  but  little  improved  upon  to  this 
day.  The  great  engine  manufactured  for  the  exposition 
in  Philadelphia  in  1776  attracted  world  wide  attention, 
and  yet  machines  equally  powerful  were  at  work  on  the 
Comstock  before  it  was  built.  The  hoisting  machines, 
pumps,  and  ventilating  apparatus  were  marvels  of 
strength  and  perfection,  while  drills,  cables,  settling 
pans,  ore  crushers,  and  other  devices  were  steadily 
improved.  The  ablest  engineers,  mechanics,  and  min- 
ing experts  came  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world 
to  see  them  in  operation,  and  to  inspect  the  shops  in 
which  they  had  been  constructed. 

Most  of  the  $340,000,000  in  gold  and  silver  which  the 
lode  produced  within  twenty  years  after  it  was  discov- 
ered, was  poured  into  California,  and  remained  there. 
Much  of  the  larger  part  of  it  was  paid  out  for  wages, 
machinery,  and  supplies,  and  again  paid  for  the  means 
by  which  the  machinery  and  supplies  themselves  were 
produced.  The  machine  shops  in  which  the  great 
pumps  and  engines,  the  stamps,  drills,  wire  cables, 
hoisting  machines,  and  a  thousand  other  things  for  use 
in  the  mines  were  made,  grew  from  very  small  affairs 
to  be  among  the  greatest  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the 
world.  The  great  siphon  by  which  water  was  carried 
across  the  deep  valley  to  Virginia  City,  was  made  in 
pieces  in  San  Francisco,  each  piece  for  the  particular 


252  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

place  it  was  to  occupy,  and  calculated  with  great  nicety 
to  resist  the  tremendous  strain  to  which  it  would  be 
subjected.  Great  wire  cables,  such  as  had  never  before 
been  used,  more  than  a  third  of  a  mile  long  and  made  of 
tapering  wires  so  that  the  upper  might  be  able  to  sup- 
port the  lower  part  as  well  as  lift  the  heavier  loads  of 
ore  from  the  deepest  levels,  were  contrived,  and  a 
thousand  other  useful  articles  were  first  brought  into 
use  on  the  Comstock.  The  immense  sums  realized  by 
the  stockholders  great  and  small  were  employed  in 
many  ways — in  San  Francisco  to  erect  palatial  homes 
and  stately  buildings,  and  in  the  interior  to  improve 
hitherto  uncultivated  lands,  or  develop  new  and  profit- 
able industries.  But  perhaps  in  no  way  was  the 
Comstock  of  more  benefit  to  the  state  than  in  that 
described  by  Mr.  Bowles:  "California,"  he  says,  "has 
taught  herself  and  the  country  how  to  mine  intelligently 
and  economically  by  her  Nevada  experience;  mining 
here  has  been  carried  to  greater  perfection  than  ever 
before  on  this  continent;  and  the  wisdom  thus  acquired 
is  already  going  back  to  profit  California's  own  gold 
mines,  and  remains  and  extends  over  all  the  mining 
regions  as  a  sure  and  safe  basis  of  all  future  operations."* 

*AcTosi  the  Continent,  p.  154. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 


BEFORE  the  framing  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  the  men  who  were  in  control 
of  the  affairs  of  the  infant  republic,  dreamed 
of  a  vast  empire  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  and  longed  to  explore  the  regions  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  with  its  interminable  plains,  lofty 
mountains,  and  mighty  rivers.  A  French  history  of 
Louisiana,  published  in  1758,  gave  the  story  of  a  Yazoo 
Indian  who  crossed  the  Shining  (Rocky)  mountains 
to  a  beautiful  river  down  which  he  traveled  to  its 
disemboguement  in  a  great  ocean.  This  stream  was 
later  called  the  Great  River  of  the  West.  In  1766-8, 
an  American  traveler,  Jonathan  Carver,  claimed  to 
have  explored  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
in  1778  his  "Travels,"  published  in  London,  makes 
mention  of  the  "river  Oregon,  or  the  river  of  the  West 
that  falls  into  the  Pacific  at  the  Strait  of  Anian." 
This  is  the  first  known  mention  of  the  name  Oregon. 
Where  Carver  heard  it,  or  whether  he  invented  it,  or 
what,  if  anything,  it  means,  is  unknown.  It  is  his 
sole  claim  to  fame,  for  his  so-called  "Travels"  have 
been  proved  to  be  merely  a  paraphrase  of  several  pre- 
vious writers.  In  1775  Bruno  Heceta,  commanding 
a  Spanish  exploring  squadron  discovered,  in  latitude 
46°  9',  a  bay  whose  swift  currents  led  him  to  believe 
he  was  in  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  and  to  this  river  he 
gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  San  Roque.  Into  this  bay, 
on  July  6,  1788,  came  Captain  John  Meares,  an 
Englishman,  sailing  in  the  employ  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  encountering  a  mighty  wall  of  breakers 
dead  ahead  and  extending  across  the  bay,  hauled  out 
and  bore  up  for  a  distant  headland  to  the  south,  in 


256  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

hopes  of  shelter  for  his  ship.  He  named  the  headland 
on  the  north  Cape  Disappointment,  a  name  it  still 
bears;  the  bay  he  called  Deception  Bay,  and  declared 
that  "no  such  river  exists  as  St.  Roc,  as  laid  down  on 
the  Spanish  charts." 

On  April  27,  1792,  Captain  George  Vancouver  sailed 
Into  this  bay  and  while  noting  that  the  sea  was  changed 
from  its  natural,  to  river-colored  water,  did  not  consider 
the  opening  worthy  of  more  attention  and  continued  his 
northern  pursuit.     He,  too,  missed  the  great  discovery. 

But  the  long  looked  for  River  of  the  West,  the 
mighty  Oregon,  had  to  give  up  its  secret.  At  eight 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  May  11,  1792, 
Captain  Robert  Gray  in  the  ship  Columbia,  a  Boston 
trader,  made  a  dash  at  the  formidable  wall  of  water, 
ran  In  "between  the  breakers"  and  when  over  the  bar 
found  himself  in  a  large  river  of  fresh  water  up  which 
he  steered.  He  remained  in  the  river  ten  days,  named 
it  for  his  ship,  the  Columbia,  and  gave  to  the  United 
States  her  claim  to  the  whole  territory  drained  by  its 
waters:  the  great  Oregon  Country,  an  imperial  domain 
of  more  than  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand 
square  miles.  The  new  republic  having  obtained  this 
great  frontage  on  the  Pacific,  the  question  was  how 
to  hold  it  and  bind  it  to  the  territories  east  of  the 
Mississippi.^ 

On  January  18,  1803,  President  Jefferson  sent  a 
message  to  congress  asking  for  an  appropriation  of 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  to  equip  and  send  out  a 
small  party  to  explore  the  country  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, with  a  view  of  cultivating  the  Indian  tribes 
inhabiting  the  upper  waters  of  that  river,  who  were 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  257 

furnishing  great  supplies  of  furs  and  peltry  to  the 
trade  of  another  nation,  and  to  open  trade  relations 
with  them.  But  Mr.  Jefferson  had  another  object  in 
view.  In  1801,  a  young  army  officer  named  Meri- 
wether Lewis,  had,  in  company  with  a  French  botanist 
named  Michaux,  started  to  explore  the  northern 
country  beyond  the  Rocky  mountains.  They  got  as 
far  as  Kentucky,  when  Michaux  was  recalled  by  his 
government;  the  expedition  was  abandoned  and  Lewis 
became,  for  a  time,  private  secretary  to  President 
Jefferson.  The  president  now  determined  to  send  an 
expedition  through  to  the  Pacific  and  open,  if  possible, 
a  road  of  communication  with  the  new  possessions  on 
the  western  ocean.  He  suggested  to  congress  that 
such  an  expedition  of  fit  men  chosen  from  the  frontier 
posts  of  the  army  could  accomplish  that  object.  It 
was  necessary  to  proceed  with  caution,  for  between 
the  western  boundary  of  the  United  States  and  the 
territory  claimed  by  right  of  Gray's  discovery,  lay  a 
vast  wilderness  belonging  to  France,  but  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Spain  and  ruled  by  Spanish  officers.  The 
appropriation  was  made  and  preparation  for  the  great 
undertaking  was  begun.  The  president  appointed 
Captain  Meriwether  Lewis  to  the  command  and  gave 
him  precise  instructions  regarding  the  scope  and  pur- 
pose of  his  journey.  In  particular,  he  was  to  proceed 
to  the  country  "where  rolls  the  Oregon,"  down  which 
he  would  travel  to  the  sea,  and  to  ascertain  whether 
the  trade  of  that  country  could  not  be  conducted 
through  to  the  Missouri  river  and  the  United  States. 
Of  course,  the  only  roads  contemplated  were  wagon 
roads.     Railroads  were  then  unknown. 


258  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Before  the  expedition  could  get  under  way,  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  was  consummated  whereby  the 
great  territory  between  the  Mississippi  river  and 
the  Rocky  mountains  became  the  property  of  the 
United  States.  Not  only  were  the  ordinary  dangers 
of  the  wilderness  to  be  encountered,  but  the  Spanish 
authorities,  who  were  still  in  possession  and  strongly 
inimical  to  the  transfer  of  the  territory,  were  advised 
by  the  traitor,  James  Wilkinson,  major-general  com- 
manding the  United  States  army  and  governor  of 
Upper  Louisiana,  to  fortify  both  the  Texas  and  Florida 
frontiers  and  thus  restrain  the  Americans'  westward 
advance  and  save  Mexico  and  Peru  from  what  he 
termed  "an  army  of  adventurers  similar  to  the  ancient 
Goths  and  Vandals."  He  also  advised  them  to  arrest 
the  exploring  party  under  Captain  Lewis  and  break 
up  the  settlement  of  Daniel  Boone  on  the  Missouri. 
For  this  precious  piece  of  advice  and  for  information 
furnished  the  Spanish  governor,  Wilkinson  was  paid 
twelve  thousand  dollars.*  Captain  Lewis  joined  to 
himself  in  the  command  of  his  party,  William  Clark, 
a  lieutenant  of  artillery,  and  together  they  made  the 
journey  without  encountering  the  Spanish  force.  The 
expedition  was  successful  and  returning  reached  St. 
Louis  in  September,  1806. 

During  the  next  few  years  the  trappers  and  hunters 
pushed  their  way  further  and  further  into  the  western 
wilderness,  and  in  18 10,  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor,  of 
New  York,  with  several  others,  formed  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company  and  sent  out  an  expedition  by  sea  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  it  was  determined  to 

*J.  J.  Cox,  American  Historical  Review,  July,  1914. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  259 

establish  a  station,  and  another  party  overland  by  the 
route  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  The  sea  expedition  reached 
the  Columbia  in  March,  1811,  and  the  land  party  the 
following  February.  A  fort  was  built  and  settlement 
made  which  received  the  name  of  Astoria.  Thus  was 
the  right  of  discovery  and  exploration  made  good  by 
colonization. 

For  a  number  of  years  little  was  done  by  way  of 
exploration,  save  that  by  the  brigades  of  the  great  fur 
companies  and  by  the  free  trappers  of  the  wilderness. 
In  1826,  Jedediah  Smith  with  fifteen  men  made  his 
way  across  the  Big  Basin  to  southern  California,  and 
after  passing  the  winter  in  California,  crossed  the 
Sierra  Nevada  in  May,  1827,  by  way  of  Mount  Lassen, 
which  he  calls  Mount  Saint  Joseph,  and  reached  the 
Great  Salt  Lake.  Smith's  venture  was  followed  by 
that  of  the  Patties  in  1828-30,  and  by  other  adven- 
turers, and  in  1 841-2  began  the  first  organized  parties 
of  emigrants  from  the  states  east  of  the  Missouri  for 
settlement  in  California  and  Oregon.  The  acquisition 
of  California  in  1848  and  the  discovery  of  gold  caused 
an  immense  immigration,  and  the  necessity  of  closer 
communication  between  the  eastern  states  and  Cali- 
fornia became  imperative.  The  advent  of  the  steam 
railroad,  1825-40,  caused  all  consideration  of  a  wagon 
road  to  the  Columbia  to  be  abandoned. 

In  1832,  Dr.  Hartwell  Carver,  of  Rochester,  New 
York,  a  grandson  of  the  whilom  explorer,  Jonathan 
Carver,  in  a  series  of  articles  in  the  "New  York 
Courier  and  Inquirer"  advocated  the  construction  of 
a  railroad  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Pacific  and  later 
memoralized  congress  for  a  charter.     He  asked  for  a 


260  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

belt  of  land  for  the  whole  distance,  with  stone,  iron, 
and  lead  from  the  public  quarries  and  mines,  and  the 
privilege  of  buying  eight  million  acres  of  selected  land 
at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre,  paying  therefor  with 
the  stock  of  his  company.  The  road  was  to  branch 
at  the  South  pass:  one  line  leading  to  San  Francisco 
bay  and  the  other  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 
The  time  made  by  the  road  was  to  be  live  days  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  and  sixteen-foot  palace 
sleeping  cars  and  saloon  and  dining  cars  were  to  be 
attached.  For  thirty  years  Carver  continued  his  peti- 
tions for  a  charter.  He  was  finally  rewarded  in  1869 
with  a  free  pass  over  the  Pacific  Railroad. 

In  1836,  John  Plumbe,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa  (later  of 
Sacramento  county,  California),  advocated  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  Lake  Michigan  to  Oregon, 
and  on  March  26,  1836,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in 
Dubuque  to  consider  how  this  could  be  accomplished. 
Congress  was  asked  for  an  appropriation  to  defray  the 
expense  of  a  survey  and  location  of  the  first  link  of 
the  great  railroad  from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi. 
This  work  was  done  and  at  the  session  of  the  Wisconsin 
legislature  of  1839-40,  congress  was  petitioned  to 
continue  the  work,  but  did  not  respond. 

Plumbe's  plan  contemplated  sufficient  appropriation 
of  the  public  land  in  alternate  sections,  twenty  million 
dollars  capital  in  shares  of  five  dollars  each,  and  an 
installment  of  twenty-five  cents  a  share  to  commence 
the  work.  When  this  was  expended,  a  sale  of  land 
would  produce  five  million  more,  and  so  on  until  the  road 
was  completed.  The  southern  members  objected  to  the 
bill  because  the  line  contemplated  was  too  far  north. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  261 

In  January,  1845,  Asa  Whitney,  of  New  York,  a 
man  who  had  spent  many  years  in  China  and  who  had 
made  extensive  explorations  of  the  region  between  the 
Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  asked  congress  for  a 
charter  for  a  railroad  to  connect  Lake  Michigan  with 
Puget  sound  or  the  Columbia  river,  or  both.  Whitney 
wanted  a  strip  of  land  sixty  miles  wide  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  road  or  92,160,000  acres,  with  their  agri- 
cultural, mineral,  and  lumber  products.  Without  capi- 
tal, he  proposed  to  build  the  road,  selling  the  lands 
to  raise  the  means,  and  after  the  completion  of  the 
road,  all  lands  remaining  unsold  were  to  be  retained 
by  himself  and  his  heirs. 

Whitney's  project  occasioned  much  discussion. 
Many  favored  it  while  others  opposed  it,  some  arguing 
that  it  would  create  a  monopoly  imperial  in  wealth 
and  resources  which  would  be  a  standing  menace  to 
the  government. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  Mr.  George  Wilkes, 
of  New  York,  presented  a  memorial  to  congress  advo- 
cating the  construction  of  a  road  by  the  government 
itself.  Its  promoter  argued  that  the  mere  fact  of  an 
official  survey  would  so  enhance  the  value  of  the  public 
lands  that  capitalists  would  hasten  to  invest  money 
in  them,  and  thus  supply  the  necessary  funds. 

It  was  a  time  when  the  imagination  of  men  was 
greatly  excited.  The  generation  had  witnessed  the 
invention  and  successful  operation  of  the  steam  rail- 
road, and  what  was  more  wonderful,  a  ship  sailing 
swiftly  against  wind  and  tide,  and  the  still  greater 
wonder,  the  electric  telegraph,  whereby  a  message 
could  be  transmitted  hundreds  of  miles  like  a  flash  of 


262  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

lightning.  New  discoveries  in  science,  new  fields  of 
enterprise  and  thought  marked  the  period  as  an  extra- 
ordinary one.  No  scheme  was  so  wild  and  impossible 
as  to  fail  of  eager  advocates  and  enthusiastic 
supporters.  As  one  of  the  advocates  of  a  national 
railroad  said :  *'  Science,  having  stripped  experiment  of 
its  terrors,  measures  with  accuracy  the  results  of  every 
assay,  and  despising  the  obstacles  of  nature,  whose 
elements — nay,  even  the  forked  lightning  itself — she 
has  fastened  to  her  car,  feels  as  capable  of  beating 
down  the  barriers  of  a  continent,  as  of  measuring  the 
distance  of  a  planet." 

The  commerce  of  the  East  in  every  age  had  been 
the  source  of  the  opulence  and  power  of  every  nation 
that  had  engrossed  it.  By  a  silent  and  almost  imper- 
ceptible operation,  India  had  been,  through  the  cen- 
turie.s,  the  secret  but  active  cause  of  the  advancement 
of  mankind.  Her  trade  imparted  the  first  impulse  to 
drowsy  and  timid  navigation,  and  revealed  in  the 
direction  to  its  coasts,  region  after  region  before 
unknown;  it  found  for  the  guidance  of  the  mariner 
new  planets  in  the  sky,  and  its  restless  spirit  had  not 
been  content  to  make  more  than  a  temporary  pause 
in  the  discovery  of  another  world.  Like  the  Genii  of 
the  fable,  it  still  offered  the  casket  and  the  sceptre  to 
those  who,  unintimidated  by  the  terrors  surrounding 
it,  were  bold  enough  to  adventure  to  its  embrace.  In 
turn  Phoenicia,  Israel,  Carthage,  Greece,  Rome,  Venice, 
Pisa,  Genoa,  Portugal,  Holland,  and  lastly  England, 
had  won  and  worn  the  ocean  diadem — our  destiny  now 
offered  it  to  us. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  263 

This  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  which  was  to  bind  in 
closer  contact  the  states  bordering  on  the  two  great 
oceans,  was,  in  reality,  to  do  much  more  than  that: 
it  was  a  road  to  India.  It  was  the  great  western 
passage  for  which  contending  nations  had  been  strug- 
gling for  centuries.  By  the  time  it  had  reached  its 
Pacific  outlet,  fraternal  lines  from  every  branch  of  the 
Atlantic  slope  would  converge  together  to  give  it  an 
iron  grasp  of  welcome  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri. 
"Thus,  then,  do  we  settle  the  great  problem  which 
has  so  long  puzzled  the  subtlest  genius  and  most  daring 
energies  of  man.  Starting  from  the  ports  of  China 
we  sail  across  the  placid  western  ocean  in  twenty  days. 
Embarking  next  upon  the  bosom  of  the  land  we  double 
our  speed  and  glide  across  the  vast  width  of  the  conti- 
nent in  six  days  more,  and  with  ten  days  left  to  fill  the 
race,  roll  out  our  Indian  treasures  on  the  shores  of 
Europe.  There  will  be  no  more  crossings  of  the 
Equator;  no  more  tedious  and  perilous  weatherings 
of  the  Capes.  The  whole  human  family,  thirty-nine 
fortieths  of  whom  lie  nortR  of  the  Equator,  will  pursue 
a  direct  intercourse  with  each  other  around  this' 
civilizing  belt,  and  the  navies  of  the  world,  recalled 
with  commerce  to  the  common  line,  will  have  little 
else  to  do  than  drowsily  look  on  at  the  happy  bustle 
which  condemns  them  to  worthlessness  and  to  decay. 
On  the  Atlantic,  the  smallest  powers,  protected  by 
the  general  equality,  will  enter  into  generous  compe- 
tition with  the  greatest,  while  on  the  Pacific,  we  shall 
reign  alone  and  be  the  common  carrier  for  all.  From 
our  new  cities  on  the  western  coast  will  launch  the 
ships  with  which  no  nation  will  be  able  to  compete  by 


264  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

sending  rival  bottoms  around  the  Capes,  while  in  the 
center  of  a  row  of  bustling  ports  will  sit  one  giant 
mart — the  mistress  of  the  West — the  modern  Tyre!"* 

Reference  was  made  to  a  route  by  canal  through  the 
isthmus.  How  could  the  United  States  preserve 
the  integrity  of  the  Grand  Canal?  Could  we  hope 
to  remain  masters  of  this  passage  in  time  of  war? 
And  if  so,  at  what  cost?  "We  have  had  enough  of 
war,"  exclaims  the  speaker.  "The  world  is  sick  of 
armies  and  navies — their  pompous  shows,  their  frip- 
peries of  rank,  their  despotic  inequalities — and  the 
masses  of  all  nations  wish  to  grasp  each  other  by  the 
hand.  It  is  the  interest  of  a  Republic,  as  well  as  its 
duty,  to  aid  these  aims  and  foster  this  fraternal  spirit. 
The  railroad  will  do  the  whole.  It  will  promote  an 
intercourse  that  will  be  its  own  protection  and  the 
possession  of  the  ponderous  gates  of  commerce  which 
we  shall  hold  on  either  ocean,  will  enable  us  by  the 
mere  lifting  of  our  linger,  to  command  peace  through- 
out the  world!  Peace,  or  the  exclusion  of  the  brawler 
from  the  highway  of  the  nations!" 

The  building  of  a  railroad  across  the  continent  of 
North  America  excited  as  great  an  interest  in  the  com- 
mercial world  of  that  day,  as  the  construction  of  a 
canal  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama  does  in  this. 
Public  meetings  were  held  in  different  parts  of  the 
Union  to  discuss  the  various  methods  by  which  it 
might  be  built.  Congress  was  disposed  to  look  with 
friendly  eyes  on  the  Whitney  project  and  in  1848  the 
legislatures  of  sixteen  states  adopted  resolutions  favor- 

*Speech  of  William  M.  Hall  of  New  York  in  favor  of  a  national  railroad  to  the 
Pacific,  at  the  Chicago  Convention,  July  7,  1847. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  265 

ing  it,  notwithstanding  the  violent  opposition  of  those 
who  objected  to  the  enormous  grant  of  public  land  it 
involved.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Benton  was  especially 
angry  in  his  protest.  "The  noise  and  the  harassment 
that  has  followed  up  the  proceedings  of  the  senate," 
he  said,  "I  now  find  interrupted  by  a  motion  which  I 
cannot  understand.  Is  it  to  run  a  railroad  through 
to  California,  when  we  can't  get  even  a  government 
for  the  territory.^  Is  that  the  idea,  sir?  At  the  very 
moment  when  I  was  looking  over  the  plan  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  as  a  ground  work  to  see  whether  anything 
could  be  done  for  the  temporary  government  of  the 
orphan  territories,  my  ears  are  struck,  sir,  by  the 
sound  of  Whitney's  railroad.  *  *  *  Why,  sir,  I  wrote 
on  this  subject  before  Mr.  Whitney  ever  dreamed  of 
it.  *  *  *  I  followed  the  track  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  but  it 
never  entered  my  head,  sir,  that  to  any  man  we  should 
ever  grant  a  hundred  millions  of  acres.  Never,  sir, 
would  I  grant  to  the  custody  of  even  such  a  man  as 
John  Jacob  Astor,  or  Stephen  Girard,  who  could  take 
care  of  their  millions,  a  tithe  of  this  grant  of  territory, 
much  less,  sir,  to  a  man  who,  as  far  as  I  know  anything 
about  him,  cannot  even  take  care  of  one  dollar,  or  one 
acre.  *  *  *  And  with  the  discretion  as  to  where  the 
railroad  shall  begin,  and  where  it  shall  end,  there  is 
not  a  man  to  whom  I  would  trust  it,  on  the  face  of  the 
earth."* 

The  southern  members  insisted  on  a  route  south  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  to  which  the  northern  men 
would  not  agree.  Mr.  Benton,  who  had  favored  a 
road  via  the  South  pass  to  the  Columbia,  now  changed 

•Thomas  H.  Benton  in  United  States  Senate,  July  29,  1848. 


266  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

his  mind  under  the  influence  of  his  versatile  son-in-law 
and  the  southern  members,  and  early  in  1849  intro- 
duced a  bill  to  provide  for  a  road  from  St.  Louis  to 
San  Francisco,  not  by  the  South  pass,  which,  he  said, 
had  never  met  the  approbation  of  Mr.  Fremont,  but 
much  further  south,  crossing  the  Rocky  mountains 
by  a  favorable  pass,  mapped  out  by  that  accomplished 
engineer,  a  pass  which  did  not  exist  and  in  the  endeavor 
to  find  which,  he  had,  in  1848,  lost  half  of  his  surveying 
party  by  starvation. 

Benton  favored  a  national  road;  he  questioned  the 
propriety  of  allowing  individuals  to  become  the  pro- 
prietors of  such  a  road,  and  in  view  of  the  enormous 
fortunes  accumulated  in  a  short  time  by  the  builders 
of  the  Pacific  railroad,  who  shall  say  he  was  not  right? 

In  the  spring  of  1849  the  people  of  St.  Louis  held  a 
preliminary  meeting  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  call 
a  national  convention  consisting  of  delegates  from 
every  state  in  the  Union,  to  be  held  in  that  city  on 
the  i6th  of  October  to  give  expression  to  the  will  of  the 
American  people.  Fourteen  states  accepted  the  invi- 
tation and  eight  hundred  and  thirty-five  delegates 
were  present  at  the  meeting.  Benton  made  an  argu- 
ment and  attempted  to  describe  the  route  across  the 
mountains  for  which  Fremont  was  looking  when  he 
became  lost  in  the  snow,  but  the  majority  seemed  to 
favor  the  South  pass,  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned 
to  convene  at  Philadelphia  in  April,  1850.  Other  cities 
had  meetings  and  conventions  at  which  methods  and 
routes  were  discussed  with  much  feeling  and  interest. 

At  Philadelphia  the  convention  was  called  to  order 
April  I,  1850,  and  William  B.  Ogden,  of  Illinois,  was 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  267 

elected  president.  Letters  were  received  from  many 
prominent  men  who  were  unable  to  be  present. 
Fremont  sent  a  letter  accompanied  by  a  map  showing 
the  Benton-Fremont  route,  which  crossed  the  Rocky 
mountains  south  of  the  Arkansas  river  by  a  pass,  said 
afterward  by  his  enemies  to  be  the  highest  peak  but 
one  in  the  range.  All  of  the  various  plans  proposed 
were  considered,  and  the  convention  finally  passed  a 
resolution  favoring  a  national  road  and  a  memorial  to 
congress  was  adopted  to  that  effect.* 

The  matter  of  the  Pacific  road  was  now  fairly  before 
the  people  and  congress  passed  an  act,  approved  March 
13,  1853,  authorizing  the  secretary  of  war  to  make  such 
explorations  as  he  might  deem  advisable,  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  most  practicable  and  economical  route 
for  a  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific 
ocean.  Under  this  authorization  the  secretary,  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  put  a  large  number  of  engineers  in  the  field 
and  all  the  routes  of  previous  explorers  were  carefully 
examined  and  fully  reported  on  and  a  number  of  new 
lines  were  run.  The  secretary's  report  is  in  full  detail 
and  comprises  thirteen  quarto  volumes  of  six  hundred 
and  fifty  pages  each,  and  is  accompanied  by  a  fine  map 
showing  the  routes  of  all  explorers  from  Lewis  and  Clark 
down  to  1856.  The  route  near  the  forty-seventh  and 
forty  ninth  parallels — the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone 
rivers — was  in  charge  of  Isaac  I.  Stevens  major  of 
engineers,  now  (1853)  governor  of  Washington  Terri- 
tory, assisted  by  Captain  George  B.  McClellan.  That 
of  the  forty-first  and  forty-second  parallels,  explored 


*Wm.  M.  Hall,  National  Railroad,  New  York,  1853-  John  Plumbe,  Memorial 
to  Senate  against  Asa  Whitney's  Railroad  Scheme.  Bancroft,  History  of  California, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  497-516. 


268  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

by  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont  and  Captain  Howard 
Stansbury,  was  reported  by  Lieutenant  E.  G.  Beckwith 
of  the  Third  Artillery.  The  route  of  the  thirty-eighth 
and  thirty-ninth  parallels,  explored  by  Captain  J.  W. 
Gunnison,  was  reported  by  Lieutenant  Beckwith. 
That  of  the  thirty-fifth  parallel,  by  Lieutenant  A.  W. 
Whipple;  while  that  of  the  thirty-second  parallel  was 
explored  by  Major  William  H.  Emory,  Captain  John 
Pope  and  Lieutenant  John  G.  Parke,  with  the  line  from 
the  Gila  river  to  San  Francisco  by  Lieutenant  R.  S. 
Williamson.  The  reports  of  proposed  routes  vary 
greatly  in  distance,  in  estimates  of  cost,  and  the  alti- 
tudes necessary  to  be  attained  are  from  a  maximum  of 
5715  feet  to  9540  feet.  Of  that  near  the  thirty-eighth 
and  thirty-ninth  parallels  (the  Fremont-Benton  route), 
the  report  states  the  cost  would  be  prohibitory.  On  all 
practicable  routes  the  greatest  number  of  miles  passing 
through  arable  land  was  632. 

The  report  of  the  secretary  of  war  was  laid  before 
congress  in  February,  1855.  The  free-soil  fight  was 
on  and  congress  could  agree  on  nothing.  Many  bills 
were  introduced — bills  for  one  road,  bills  for  two  roads, 
and  bills  for  three  roads.  All  met  the  same  fate. 
Meanwhile,  the  withdrawal  of  the  southern  members 
and  the  events  which  followed  gave  a  new  character 
to  legislation.  The  immediate  construction  of  a  rail- 
road across  the  continent  was  demanded,  not  only  as 
a  commercial  necessity,  but  as  a  defensive  measure. 
In  addition,  the  public  lands  had  developed  into  states 
and  territories.  A  system  of  land  grants  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  railroads  had  been  inaugurated  and 
men  had  learned  that  population  always  followed  a 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  269 

railroad  and  that  it  was  safe  to  build  through  a  country 
that  would  support  settlers.  In  1862  a  bill  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  telegraph  line  from 
the  Missouri  river  to  the  Pacific  ocean  passed  both 
houses  and  became  a  law  July  ist.  It  chartered  a 
company  to  be  known  as  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  to  be  composed  of  men  of  ever>'  northern 
state,  and  of  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Kansas,  Oregon, 
California,  and  the  territories  of  Nebraska,  Colorado, 
and  Nevada,  associated  with  five  commissioners,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  secretary  of  the  interior.* 

The  road  was  called  the  Union  Pacific  because  it  was 
intended  to  unite  with  other  roads  to  form  a  transcon- 
tinental line,  namely:  the  Leavenworth,  Pawnee,  and 
Western  Railroad  of  Kansas,  the  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
road of  California,  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph 
Railroad,  the  Missouri  Pacific,  and  a  line  from  Sioux 
City,  Iowa.  The  first  was  authorized  to  construct  a 
railroad  and  telegraph  line  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  river  to  a  point  on  the  one  hundredth  meridian 
of  longitude  west  from  Greenwich  in  the  territory  of 
Nebraska.  The  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad 
should  extend  from  St.  Joseph  via  Atchison  and  connect 
with  the  Union  Pacific  road  at  the  one  hundredth 
meridian.  A  railroad  was  also  to  be  constructed  from 
Sioux  City  to  the  same  point  on  the  hundredth  meri- 
dian, and  the  Union  Pacific  company  was  authorized 
to  construct  a  road  from  some  point  on  the  western 
boundary  of  Iowa,  to  be  selected  by  the  president  of 

*Among  the  charter  members  named  in  the  bill  were  D.  O.  Mills,  Peter  Donahue, 
C.  P.  Huntington,  Theodore  D.  Judah,  Charles  McLaughlin,  and  others,  of 
California;  and  John  Atchison  and  John  D.  Winters,  of  Nevada  Territory. 


270  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  United  States,  to  form  connection  with  the  above 
roads  at  the  hundredth  meridian  and  to  continue 
westward  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  California  where 
it  would  meet  and  connect  with  the  Central  Pacific  of 
that  state.  The  charter  provided  that  the  capital 
stock  should  consist  of  100,000  shares  of  $1,000  each, 
of  which  not  more  than  200  shares  should  be  held  by 
any  one  person  and  no  person  should  be  a  director 
who  was  not  a  bona  fide  owner  of  at  least  five  shares  of 
stock.  The  right  of  way  through  the  public  lands  was 
granted  with  the  right  to  take  from  them  earth,  stone, 
and  timber,  or  other  material  for  the  construction  of 
the  railroad  and  telegraph.  The  United  States  should 
extinguish  as  rapidly  as  possible  the  Indian  title  along 
the  line;  and  there  was  granted  to  the  company  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  the  road  and  telegraph  and 
to  secure  the  safe  and  speedy  transportation  of  the 
mails,  troops,  munitions  of  war,  and  public  stores 
thereon,  every  alternate  section  of  public  land  desig- 
nated by  odd  numbers,  to  the  amount  of  five  alternate 
sections  per  mile  on  each  side  of  the  railroad  and  within 
the  limits  of  ten  miles  on  each  side,  not  sold,  reserved, 
or  otherwise  disposed  of,  mineral  lands  alone  exempted, 
and  all  lands  so  granted  not  sold  or  disposed  of  by  the 
company  within  three  years  after  the  completion  of 
the  road  to  be  open  to  settlement  and  preemption  like 
other  public  lands.  When  forty  consecutive  miles  of 
road  and  telegraph  should  be  completed,  American  iron 
being  used  in  the  rails  and  in  construction  and  equip- 
ment, the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  after  inspection 
and  acceptance  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
president,  should  issue  to  the  company  bonds  of  the 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  271 

United  States  of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  payable 
thirty  years  after  date,  bearing  interest  at  six  per  cent, 
to  the  extent  of  sixteen  thousand  dollars  per  mile  for 
every  mile  of  the  completed  section;  the  delivery  of 
these  bonds,  twenty-five  per  cent  of  which  were  retained 
until  the  road  should  be  completed,  to  constitute,  ipso 
facto,  a  first  mortgage  on  the  whole  line  and  telegraph, 
together  with  rolling  stock  and  property  of  every  kind 
appertaining,  and  on  the  refusal  or  failure  of  the  com- 
pany to  redeem  its  bonds,  or  any  part  of  them,  when 
required  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  do  so, 
its  road  and  property  might  be  taken  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  the  government.  It  was  further  provided 
that  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  westwardly  from 
the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  for  the 
same  distance  easterly  from  the  western  base  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  at  points  to  be  designated  by  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  the  number  of  bonds 
per  mile  which  might  be  issued  was  treble  the  amount 
granted  for  the  level  sections,  and  should  be  due  upon 
the  completion  of  each  twenty  miles;  and  between 
these  two  mountain  divisions  the  number  of  bonds  per 
mile  to  be  issued  should  be  double  the  amount  for  the 
level  sections  and  should  issue  every  twenty  miles, 
but  no  more  than  50,000  bonds  ($50,000,000)  should 
be  issued  in  aid  of  the  whole  main  line  of  the  road. 
The  grants  were  made  upon  the  condition  that  the 
company  should  pay  its  bonds  at  maturity,  should 
keep  its  road  and  telegraph  in  repair  and  use,  and  at 
all  times  ready  for  the  service  of  the  government, 
which  should  pay  a  fair  and  reasonable  compensation 
for  such  service,  but  not  more  than  private  individuals 


272  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

were  charged,  and  this  indebtedness  of  the  United 
States  might  be  applied  upon  the  bond  and  interest 
debt  of  the  company  to  the  government,  and  after  the 
completion  of  the  road,  at  least  five  per  cent  of  the  net 
earnings  should  be  annually  applied  to  the  payment 
thereof.  The  road  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  Sacramento  river  must  be 
completed  by  July  i,  1876.  The  bill  provided  that 
all  roads  constructed  under  its  provisions  to  form  a 
transcontinental  line  should  receive  the  same  aid  in 
construction  and  be  subjected  to  the  same  conditions 
as  the  Union  Pacific.  The  company  should  file  its 
assent  to  the  terms  thereof  within  one  year  from  the 
passage  of  the  act,  should  designate  its  route  within 
two  years,  and  should  complete  its  railroad  and  tele- 
graph within  twelve  years.  The  Kansas  company 
should  complete  one  hundred  miles  of  its  road  within 
two  years  after  filing  its  assent.  The  Central  Pacific 
company  of  California  should  complete  fifty  miles 
within  two  years;  each  road  to  construct  an  equal 
distance  each  year  until  the  whole  was  completed;  and 
afterwards  might  unite  upon  equal  terms  with  the 
Union  Pacific  company  to  complete  what  remained  of 
that  road.  In  case  the  latter  should  reach  the  bound- 
ary of  California  before  the  Central  Pacific,  it  might, 
with  the  consent  of  the  state,  continue  on  to  a  connec- 
tion with  that  road;  or  should  the  Central  Pacific  first 
reach  the  boundary  of  the  state,  it  might  continue  on 
to  a  meeting  with  the  line  from  the  east.  Up  to  1865, 
the  Union  Pacific  had  not  begun  construction  of  its 
road,  but  in  that  year  it  commenced  and  made  rapid 
progress.     The  managers  expected  to  reach  the  bound- 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  273 

ary  line  of  California  before  the  Central  Pacific 
company  could  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  were 
surprised  to  find  that  company  essaying  the  Humboldt 
desert  by  the  time  their  road  reached  Cheyenne. 
Beginning  at  Council  Bluffs  the  Union  Pacific  crossed 
the  Missouri  river  and  thence  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  for  forty-six  miles  it  reached  the  Platte  river, 
and  continuing  up  the  north  bank  of  that  stream  to 
the  forks  it  crossed  to  the  south  fork  and  up  to  the 
mouth  of  Lodge  Pole  creek,  up  which  it  ran  and  crossed 
the  first  range  of  the  Rocky  mountains  by  Cheyenne 
pass  at  an  elevation  of  about  eight  thousand  feet,  to 
which  point  their  line  from  the  Missouri  river  had  been 
a  gradual  ascent;  running  northerly  and  skirting  the 
high  peaks  of  the  Medicine  Bow  range,  they  resumed 
a  westerly  direction  and  continued  through  Bridger's 
pass;  thence,  by  Captain  Stansbury's  survey  of  1850, 
down  Bitter  creek  to  the  Green  river,  across  the  Green, 
up  Black's  fork  and  the  Big  Muddy,  they  crossed  the 
Wasatch  range  by  Weber  pass  to  Ogden. 

In  California  the  subject  of  a  transcontinental  line 
of  railroad  received  early  attention,  and  the  first 
legislature,  1850,  adopted  a  joint  resolution  urging 
upon  congress  the  importance  of  authorizing  the 
construction  of  a  national  railroad  from  the  Pacific 
to  the  Mississippi  river  as  soon  as  possible,  and  the 
immediate  organization  of  an  engineer  corps  to  make 
complete  surveys  of  the  various  routes  that  had  been 
recommended,  while  much  discussion  was  had  over  the 
most  favorable  route  for  the  California  end  of  the  road. 
The  first  scheme  to  take  form  was  a  line  from  San 
Francisco  to  San  Jose  for   which  $100,000  had  been 


274  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

subscribed  in  February,  1851.  On  the  6th  of  Sep- 
tember a  company  was  organized  under  the  name  of 
the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  Railroad  company,  and  survey- 
ing began.  An  attempt  was  made  to  float  the  stock  in 
California  and  in  the  eastern  cities,  but  as  no  part 
of  the  road  had  been  constructed,  the  effort  failed.  A 
like  fate  met  an  appeal  to  congress  for  aid.  The 
enterprise  languished  and  in  1859,  after  two  organiza- 
tions had  been  effected,  a  new  company  was  formed 
under  the  name  of  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  Railroad 
company  with  $2,000,000  capital  stock.  This  com- 
pany met  with  the  same  fate  and  was  succeeded  in  i860 
by  another  organization  which  completed  the  road 
January  16,  1864.  It  was  later  extended  southward 
and  is  now  a  portion  of  the  main  line  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  company.  The  first  railroad  company 
to  begin  operations  in  California  was  the  Sacramento 
Valley  Railroad  company,  which  was  incorporated  in 
1853  and  began  grading  in  February,  1855.  On 
February  22,  1856,  the  road  was  formally  opened  from 
Sacramento  to  Folsom,  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles. 
Both  of  these  roads  hoped  to  form  the  California 
end  of  the  transcontinental  line.  At  Placerville  a 
meeting  was  held  early  in  1854  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  a  railroad  to  connect  that  place  with  the 
Sacramento  Valley  road;  but  owing  to  the  decline  in 
trade  and  the  following  depression  of  1854-5,  nothing 
was  done.  In  1857  a  tri-weekly  line  of  stages  was 
established  between  Placerville  and  Genoa  in  Carson 
valley,  via  Johnson  pass,  by  a  road  following  up  the  south 
fork  of  the  American  river  and  crossing  the  summit  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  at  an  elevation  of  6752  feet — about 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  275 

ten  miles  north  of  Carson  pass,  over  which  so  much 
of  the  immigration  of  1849-50  had  passed.  In  1858 
the  overland  mail  from  Sacramento  to  Salt  Lake  began 
to  be  carried  over  this  road  and  in  1859  came  the 
Washoe  excitement  and  the  migration  to  the  Comstock 
mines.  The  road  over  the  mountains  was  not  only  the 
best  equipped  stage  road  in  the  United  States  but  was 
one  of  the  most  beautiful.  Leaving  Placerville  it 
reached  the  bluffs  overlooking  the  south  fork  of  the 
American  in  sixteen  miles  over  a  gentle  grade;  thence 
following  up  the  stream  and  through  Strawberry  valley 
it  crossed  the  summit  at  Johnson  pass;  thence  a  drive 
of  five  miles  in  a  northerly  direction  brought  the 
traveler  in  sight  of  Lake  Tahoe,  lying  three  hundred 
feet  below  and  stretching  for  thirty-five  miles  to  the 
north.  For  the  next  ten  miles  the  road  followed  the 
shore  of  the  lake  which  it  left  at  Friday's  Station, 
thence  turning  due  east  a  sharp  pull  of  four  miles, 
rising  eleven  hundred  feet,  and  reaching  the  western 
summit  of  the  sierra  at  Daggett's  pass,  elevation  of 
seventy-four  hundred  feet;  then  by  the  Kingsbury 
grade  to  Genoa  and  Carson  City.  The  road  was  kept 
free  from  snow  in  winter  and  was  sprinkled  in  summer. 
The  coaches  were  the  finest  made,  the  horses  were  the 
fleetest  obtainable,  and  such  knights  of  the  whip  as 
Hank  Monk,  Curly  Bill,  Curly  Dan,  et  al.,  gained 
their  fame  on  this  run.  From  Placerville  to  Carson 
City,  one  hundred  miles,  the  time  schedule  was  ten 
hours.  The  slow  toiling  up  hill  was  compensated  when 
the  summit  was  reached  and  it  was  a  glorious  sight  to 
see  one  of  these  handsome  coaches  loaded  with  pas- 
sengers, inside  and  out,  dashing  down  the  grade,  the  six 


276  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

horses  at  full  run  while  the  driver  with  foot  on  brake 
cracked  his  long  lashed  whip  over  their  heads.  But  the 
end  was  inevitable  and  the  building  of  the  Pacific 
railroad  killed  a  most  picturesque  and  profitable 
business.  It  is  said  that  in  1863  there  was  collected 
in  tolls  on  this  road  three  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
while  the  freight  on  merchandise  and  machinery  over  it 
during  that  year  was  thirteen  million  dollars. 

Placerville  felt  that  it  had  claims  to  consideration 
in  the  selection  of  a  route  for  a  transcontinental  line, 
but  it  was  not  to  be.  The  Dutch  Flat  route  was 
selected,  the  Central  Pacific  absorbed  the  Sacramento, 
Placer,  and  Nevada  railroad  and  endeavored  to  break 
into  Placerville's  stage  road  business  by  building  a 
wagon  road  from  Dutch  Flat  to  Carson  valley  and  the 
Washoe*  mines  and  putting  on  a  line  of  stages  to  run 
in  connection  with  their  railroad. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1859,  the  legislature  passed  a 
resolution  calling  for  a  convention  to  be  held  in  Sep- 
tember in  San  Francisco,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
measures  whereby  the  building  of  a  railroad  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  might  be  acomplished.  Every 
county  of  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Arizona 
was  requested  to  send  delegates.  John  Bidwell 
presided  and  a  memorial  to  congress  was  adopted 
praying  for  congressional  aid  for  a  road  through  the 
territories,  to  connect  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
state  with  such  road  as  might  be  constructed  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  declaring  a  preference  for  a  central  route 
between   the   thirty-eighth   and   forty-second    degrees 

*The   Comstock  Lode  and   the  mining  district  of  Virginia   City  was  called 
"Washoe"  because  of  the  Washoe  mountain  range  on  which  it  is  located. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  277 

of  latitude;  the  feasibility  of  which  had  been  demon- 
strated by  the  maintenance  upon  it,  summer  and  winter, 
of  a  stage  line.  To  aid  in  the  construction  of  the 
California  portion  of  the  road  it  was  proposed  that 
the  states  of  California  and  Oregon  should  create  a 
debt  of  ^15,000,000  and  ^5,000,000  respectively,  and 
that  a  railroad  fund  should  be  created  by  setting  aside 
the  moneys  obtained  by  the  sale  of  the  swamp  and 
overflowed  lands. 

The  chief  promoter  of  this  San  Francisco  meeting  was 
a  young  engineer  named  Theodore  D.  Judah,  a  native 
of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  educated  at  the  Rensselaer 
Polytechnic  Institute  of  Troy,  New  York.  Judah  came 
to  California  in  1854  to  construct  the  Sacramento 
Valley  road.  He  had  made  long  and  careful  study  of 
the  problem  of  a  Pacific  railroad;  he  was  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  practicability  of  the  project  and  was 
full  of  zeal  for  its  accomplishment.  It  was  largely  his 
earnestness,  and  the  clearness  and  satisfactory  character 
of  the  information  he  furnished  that  influenced  the 
action  of  the  convention. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  Judah  called  a  railroad  meeting 
at  St.  Charles  hotel  in  Sacramento  and  made  an  appeal 
for  assistance  in  perfecting  his  surveys  of  the  different 
passes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  of  which  he  had  made 
many  reconnoissances,  and  in  response  a  fund  was 
raised  to  keep  surveyors  in  the  field.  Among  the  men 
whom  Judah  had  succeeded  in  interesting  in  his  project 
were  Leland  Stanford,  Collis  Potter  Huntington,  Mark 
Hopkins,  and  Charles  Crocker.  He  had  been  intro- 
duced to  them  by  James  Bailey,  a  jeweler  of  Sacra- 
mento, and  they  had  listened  to  his  statements  most 


278  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

approvingly.  Stanford  was  born  on  a  farm  near 
Albany,  New  York,  in  1 824.  He  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  in  summer,  attended  school  in  winter,  studied 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845,  and  began  the 
practice  of  law  at  Port  Washington,  Wisconsin.  In 
1852  he  came  to  California  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  at  Michigan  Bluff,  in  Placer  county;  soon 
coming  to  Sacramento,  he  became  a  prominent  mer- 
chant, taking  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  in  1861-3, 
was  governor  of  California.  Huntington,  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  born  in  1821,  came  to  California  in  1849 
and  went  into  mercantile  business  at  Sacramento,  and 
in  1855,  in  partnership  with  Mark  Hopkins,  established 
the  hardware  house  of  Huntington,  Hopkins  and 
Company.  Hopkins  was  a  native  of  New  York,  born 
in  1813,  entered  into  mercantile  business  at  Lockport, 
New  York,  studied  law,  and  in  1849  came  to  California. 
Charles  Crocker  was  a  native  of  Troy,  New  York, 
born  in  1822.  He  worked  on  his  father's  farm  in 
Indiana,  in  a  saw  mill  and  later  in  a  forge,  and  attended 
district  school  in  winter.  In  1850  he  came  to  Ca.lifornia 
and  in  1852  established  a  dry  goods  business  in 
Sacramento. 

Soon  Judah's  enthusiastic  work  began  to  show  results. 
On  June  28,  1861,  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  company 
of  California  was  organized  under  the  general  incor- 
poration law  of  the  state,  with  Leland  Stanford, 
president;  Collis  P.  Huntington,  vice-president;  Mark 
Hopkins,  treasurer;  James  Bailey,  secretary;  and 
Theodore  D.  Judah,  chief  engineer.  The  directors 
were  the  above  and  E.  B.  Crocker,  John  F.  Morse, 
D.  W.  Strong,  and  Charles  Marsh.     The  capital  stock 


THE  BUILDERS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 

Mark  Hopkins  CoUis  P.  Huntington 

Theodore  D,  Judah 
Leland  Stanford  Charles  Crocker 


i   OF 


24.     He  worked  on  his  father' 
'iQol  in  winter,  studied 

"•'-  ''^^  S>  and  b'^'-'-^'  ^'^a 
Wiscoi 

d  in  mercantile 
ounty;  soo" 
.    •  juminent  me: 
,.  itics.  and  in  t86t 
iunting 
came  to  California  in 


^^Kopkins    and 
nati^SK6^Li^cw  York,  be 
ess  at  Lockpo: 
jQe  to  California. 
•IV,   New  York. 
er*s  fa. 
ind. attend  ( 
'"fornia 


coinpai!; 
jieral  inco;  - 

nd    Stanford 

ce-president;  Ma- 
re t  a  ry;    and 
jre   U  ihe   directors 


^U- 


John  F.  Morse, 
he  capital  stock 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  279 

of  the  company  was  ^8,500,000  divided  into  85,000 
shares  of  ^100  each,  and  Stanford,  Crocker,  Huntington, 
Hopkins,  and  Judah  each  subscribed  for  150  shares, 
while  other  individuals  subscribed  for  850  shares  more, 
making  a  total  of  1580  shares;  and  the  ten  per  cent, 
required  by  law  to  be  paid  down,  gave  the  sum  of 
^15,800  with  which  to  begin  the  construction  of  a 
railroad  across  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

The  audacity  of  these  men  in  undertaking  such  an 
enterprise  seems  remarkable.  The  entire  assets  of 
the  four  leaders  did  not  exceed  ^109,000  by  their  own 
showing,  and  yet  they  were  about  to  attempt  the  most 
difficult  and  expensive  portion  of  a  Pacific  railroad. 

Of  all  the  surveys  laid  before  the  corporation  by 
Judah,  that  via  Dutch  Flat,  Donner  pass,  and  Truckee 
river,  was  selected.  August  and  September  were  de- 
voted to  mapping  the  surveys,  making  profiles  of  the 
mountains,  and  gathering  information  to  lay  before 
congress;  and  in  October  Judah  went  with  these  to 
Washington  to  endeavor  to  secure  the  passage  of  a 
Pacific  railroad  bill. 

In  the  senate  were  Milton  S.  Latham  and  James  A. 
McDougall,  while  Timothy  Guy  Phelps,  Frederick 
F.  Law,  and  Aaron  A.  Sargent,  represented  the  state 
in  the  lower  house.  In  company  with  Sargent  Judah 
traveled  to  Washington.  Together  they  laid  their 
plans  for  a  railroad  bill,  and  the  bill,  as  it  finally  passed, 
was  chiefly  the  work  of  Sargent  aided  by  Judah. 

The  bill  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  directors  of  the 
Central  Pacific  Company.  There  was  a  depreciation 
in  government  bonds  and  currency  consequent  upon 
the  civil  war;  then  the  act  made  the  subsidy  a  first 


280  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

mortgage  on  the  road,  and  therefore  no  second  mortgage 
would  be  accepted  by  capitalists,  without  whose  aid 
the  first  lot  of  subsidy  bonds  could  never  be  obtained. 
Moreover  the  land  grant  in  California  was  of  little 
value,  for  under  the  terms  of  the  act  less  than  200,000 
acres  of  arable  land  could  be  obtained  between  Sacra- 
mento and  the  state  line.  But  notwithstanding  all 
this,  the  directors  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  grant 
though  they  were  fully  aware  that  without  further 
action  on  the  part  of  congress,  to  complete  even  the 
first  forty  miles  might  be  a  task  beyond  their  resources. 

In  July,  1862,  Judah  returned  to  California  and  the 
notice  of  acceptance  of  the  terms  of  the  bill  was  filed 
in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior  December 
I,  1862. 

Now  came  the  struggle  to  construct  the  first  forty 
miles  of  road.  Huntington  went  east  and  succeeded  in 
procuring  material  for  fifty  miles  of  road  which  he 
shipped  to  California,  and  on  the  22d  of  February, 
1863,  the  ceremony  of  breaking  ground  at  Sacramento 
took  place  in  the  presence  of  the  legislature  and  other 
spectators,  Governor  Stanford  throwing  the  first  shovel- 
ful of  earth.  Contracts  were  let  for  the  first  eighteen 
miles  of  road,  the  track  to  be  laid  by  the  middle  of 
August;  but  it  was  not  so  completed  until  about 
January,  1864,  and  by  September  of  that  year  thirty- 
one  miles  had  been  finished. 

In  October,  1863,  Judah  set  out  again  for  Washington 
to  ask  for  further  benefits.  He  was  taken  sick  with  a 
fever  and  died  in  New  York  on  November  2,  1863, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven  years.  He  was  an 
engineer  of  rare  skill  and  ability  and  without  him  the 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  281 

Pacific  railroad  would  not  have  been  built  when  it 
was.  He  pointed  the  way  and  began  the  work  and  new 
and  less  talented  men  could  carry  it  on. 

The  situation  confronting  the  railroad  builders  was 
not  an  easy  one.  The  problem  was  how  to  get  the 
money  to  build  the  first  forty  miles  of  road  which  must 
be  constructed  before  the  government  subsidy  would  be 
available?  Their  combined  assets  would  not  build 
three  miles  of  road;  no  capitalist,  individual,  or  cor- 
poration would  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  The 
few  Sacramento  merchants  who  ventured  to  subscribe 
to  the  enterprise  were  told  they  would  lose  their  money. 
The  directors  were  bitterly  assailed  in  the  press  and 
their  failure  freely  predicted.  But  the  railroad  builders 
were  not  idle.  The  recognized  advantage  of  the  road, 
and  the  general  desire  to  have  it  built  told  in  their 
favor  and  the  people  were  with  them.  An  act  of  the 
legislature,  approved  April  2,  1863,  authorized  the 
county  of  Placer,  if  the  electors  so  voted,  to  subscribe 
for  stock  in  the  railroad  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  in  county  bonds  to  run  twenty  years  at  eight 
per  cent;  it  also  gave  the  company  right  of  way  over 
certain  specified  streets,  certain  levee  and  other  public 
lands  outside  the  city  of  Sacramento,  together  with  a 
portion  of  the  water  front  and  certain  overflowed  lands 
within  the  city.  The  supervisors  of  San  Francisco 
were  granted  leave,  subject  to  the  will  of  the  people,  to 
subscribe  for  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  stock  of 
the  Central  Pacific  and  four  hundred  thousand  of  the 
stock  of  the  Western  Pacific  companies  to  be  paid  for 
in  city  and  county  bonds  running  for  thirty  years, 
payable  in  gold  with  interest  at  seven  per  cent.     Sacra- 


282  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

mento  county  was  also  allowed  to  subscribe  for  three 
hundred  thousand  of  stock  in  like  manner;  the  state 
was  required  to  pay  the  company  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  when  the  first  twenty  miles  of  railroad  were 
completed,  a  like  sum  for  the  second  twenty  miles  and 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  when  fifty  miles  were 
finished.  The  consideration  for  this  subsidy  was  that 
whenever  it  should  be  required  the  road  should  trans- 
port over  its  line  public  messengers,  convicts  going  to 
the  state  prison,  materials  for  the  construction  of  the 
state  capital,  articles  for  exhibition  at  the  state  fairs, 
and  in  case  of  war,  invasion,  or  insurrection,  troops 
and  munitions  of  war,  free  of  charge.  The  legislature 
also  authorized  and  empowered  the  Sacramento, 
Placer,  and  Nevada  Railroad  company  to  sell  all  or 
any  part  of  the  railroad  built  by  it  to  the  Central 
Pacific  company.  Placer  and  Sacramento  counties 
subscribed  as  authorized  by  the  legislature.  In  San 
Francisco  there  was  trouble.  The  press  attacked  the 
scheme  viciously.  Here  was  a  company,  they  said, 
of  a  few  unknown  individuals  of  an  interior  town, 
possessed  of  insufficient  means  to  commence  with,  yet 
who  had  spent  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  killing 
the  Placerville  railroad  by  diverting  travel  to  the  Dutch 
Flat  route;  who  had  purchased  another  possible  rival;* 
and  had  converted  a  third  to  its  own  purposes  by 
assigning  to  it  the  grant  and  privileges  derived  from 
the  Pacific  Railroad  act  of  1862,  and  adopting  it  into 
its  line  to  San  Francisco. f     After   some    litigation   a 


*The  Sacramento,  Placer,  and  Nevada  Railroad. 

fThe  Western  Pacific  Railroad.     Bancroft,  History  oj  California,   Vol.    VII, 
p.  552-557.     Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IV,  p.  471-481. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  283 

compromise  with  the  city  and  county  of  San  Francisco 
was  effected  whereby  the  city  contributed  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  the  Central  Pacific  company  and 
two  hundred  thousand  to  the  Western  Pacific,  and 
relinquished  its  stock  in  the  companies,  fearing  respon- 
sibility as  a  stockholder  in  case  of  failure.  This  proved 
to  be  a  mistake  as  the  stock  rose  to  high  value.  The 
county  of  San  Joaquin  subscribed  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  to  the  stock  of  the  Western  Pacific, 
and  that  of  Santa  Clara  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
to  the  same.  The  Western  Pacific  Railroad  company 
was  organized  in  1862  to  form  the  connecting  link 
between  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  as  a  part  of 
the  transcontinental  line.  It  ran  from  San  Jose  to 
Sacramento  via  Stockton  and  connected  with  Oakland 
by  a  branch  from  Niles,  and  San  Francisco  by  ferry 
boat  across  the  bay. 

In  1864  the  legislature  repealed  the  act  of  1863 
granting  to  the  Central  Pacific  company  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  substituted  another  authorizing 
the  company  to  issue  its  bonds  of  one  thousand  dollars 
each  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  twelve  millions  of 
dollars  payable  in  gold  coin  in  twenty  years  with 
interest  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent.  These  bonds 
were  to  be  secured  by  mortgage  on  the  railroad,  rolling 
stock, buildings  and  other  property  including  franchises; 
but  the  interest  on  the  first  fifteen  hundred  bonds, 
representing  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  was  to  be 
paid  by  the  state,  provided  however  that  the  counties 
of  Placer  and  Sacramento  and  the  city  and  county  of 
San  Francisco  should  be  exempt  as  stockholders  from 
liability   for   the   payment   of   the   company's  bonds, 


284  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

interest  or  principal,  over  and  above  the  amount 
previously  subscribed  by  them.  A  tax  of  eight  cents 
on  the  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property  of  the  state 
was  to  be  levied  for  twenty  years  to  constitute  a  fund 
to  be  known  as  the  Pacific  railroad  fund  for  the  payment 
of  interest  on  such  fifteen  hundred  bonds.  The  act 
contained  the  same  conditions  with  regard  to  free 
transportation  as  the  former  one,  and  in  addition 
a  provision  for  a  deed  from  the  company  of  a  granite 
quarry  in  Placer  county  situated  on  railroad  land.  The 
act  was  assailed  as  unconstitutional,  for  only  in  case 
of  insurrection,  war,  or  invasion  could  the  state  create 
a  debt  for  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  dollars; 
but  the  bill  was  so  drawn  that  the  civil  war  was  made 
the  motive  and  the  necessity  for  the  early  construction 
of  the  road  to  repel  invasion,  suppress  insurrection, 
and  defend  the  state  from  its  enemies. 

Meanwhile  the  Union  Pacific  had  not  commenced 
construction  at  its  end  of  the  line  but  the  company  was 
using  all  its  endeavor  to  prevail  upon  congress  to  double 
the  amount  of  aid  granted.  To  assist  in  this  work  now 
came  Huntington,  on  whom  had  fallen  the  burden  since 
the  death  of  Judah,  and  upon  more  competent  shoulders 
it  could  hardly  have  rested;  his  was  clearly  the  force 
which  dominated  this  group  of  railroad  builders  and 
without  his  great  ability  it  is  doubtful  if  the  enterprise 
would  have  succeeded.  There  were  many  strong  argu- 
ments made  and  weighty  reasons  brought  forward  by 
Huntington  relative  to  the  necessity  for  relief  at  the 
western  end  of  the  line.  He  claimed  that  the  subsidies 
granted  by  the  law  of  1862  were  entirel}^  inadequate 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  285 

to  build  the  railroad,  while  the  need  of  securing  speedy 
communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  be- 
came daily  more  and  more  apparent  and  among  the 
arguments  urged  in  support  of  this  view  was  the  danger 
of  losing  California  to  the  Union  unless  the  road  was 
speedily  constructed.  The  great  advantage  of  the 
road  in  developing  the  country  and  increasing  its 
wealth  was  presented,  while  the  fall  in  the  value  of 
currency  and  bonds,  and  the  rise  in  price  of  labor  and 
materials  caused  by  the  war,  were  vigorously  pressed 
as  reasons  for  relief. 

The  arguments  of  Huntington,  helped  as  they  were 
by  the  whole  force  of  the  Union  Pacific  company,  were 
successful  and  resulted  in  the  passage  of  an  act  amend- 
ing that  of  1862,  which  became  a  law  by  the  approval 
of  President  Lincoln  July  2,  1864. 

The  amended  act  increased  the  land  grant  from  five 
to  ten  sections  per  mile;  removed  the  reservation  of 
mineral  lands  as  far  as  concerned  coal  and  iron;  ex- 
tended the  time  for  designating  the  general  route  one 
year,  while  the  amount  to  be  annually  constructed 
was  reduced  from  fifty  to  twenty-five  miles;  but 
provided  that  the  whole  distance  to  the  state  boundary 
should  be  finished  in  four  years.  The  reservation  of 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  bonds  to  be  delivered  to 
the  company  until  the  completion  of  the  road,  was 
repealed.  The  requirement  of  the  previous  act  that 
all  compensation  for  services  rendered  the  government 
and  five  per  cent  of  the  net  earnings  of  the  road  were 
to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  bonds  loaned  the 
company  and  the  interest  thereon  was  changed,  and 


286  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

only  one  half  of  the  compensation  for  services  was 
required  to  be  so  applied.  If  the  chief  engineer  of 
either  corporation  should  certify  that  a  certain  portion 
of  the  road  required  it,  to  prepare  the  road  for  the 
superstructure  for  any  section  of  twenty  miles,  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury  was  authorized  to  issue  two- 
thirds  of  the  bonds  which  would  have  been  due.  Either 
company  might,  on  completion  of  each  section,  issue 
first  mortgage  bonds  on  its  road  and  telegraph  line  to 
the  amount  of  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  to  be 
issued  to  them  on  an  even  date;  and  the  lien  of  the 
government  should  be  subordinate  to  that  of  the  bonds 
of  the  companies  issued  on  their  roads  and  equipments; 
besides  which,  the  government  would  issue  its  bonds 
every  twenty  instead  of  every  forty  miles,  as  in  the 
original  act.  Should  the  Central  Pacific  company  elect 
to  build  east  of  the  state  line,  it  would  be  allowed  bonds 
of  the  government  at  the  rate  of  thirty-two  one  thou- 
sand dollar  bonds  per  mile,  the  understanding  being 
that  the  whole  country  between  the  Rocky  mountains 
and  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  more  or  less  mountainous. 
The  Central  Pacific  company  was  restricted  to  building 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  east  of  the  boundary  line 
of  California,  but  in  1866  this  restriction  was  removed 
and  the  company  permitted  to  build  until  the  road 
coming  from  the  east  was  met. 

With  the  passage  of  this  act  the  money  troubles  of 
the  railroad  builders  disappeared  and  the  completion 
of  the  road  was  assured.  The  most  important  provision 
of  the  act  of  1864  was  that  which  permitted  each 
corporation  to  issue,  on  the  completion  of  each  twenty 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  287 

miles  of  road,  first  mortgage  bonds  to  an  amount 
equal  to  that  issued  by  the  United  States,  of  even  date 
and  tenor  therewith,  and  subordinating  the  mortgage 
lien  of  the  United  States  bonds  to  those  issued  by  the 
companies.  This  provision  enabled  the  builders  of 
the  roads  to  negotiate  their  bonds  at  once  and  at  the 
highest  rate.  In  addition  to  these  favors  the  western 
base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  was,  by  executive  order  of 
the  president,  Mr.  Lincoln,  moved  down  to  Arcade, 
five  miles  from  Sacramento,  although  for  fifteen  miles 
beyond  Arcade  the  road  ran  over  the  almost  dead  level 
of  the  Sacramento  valley  and  thence  for  fifteen  miles 
further  over  an  easy  grade  of  about  fifty  feet  to  the 
mile.*  The  importance  of  this  order  of  the  president, 
who,  of  course,  could  have  had  no  personal  knowledge 
of  the  topography  of  the  country,  is  seen  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  bonds  issued  by  the  United  States 
and  by  the  company  amounted  to  thirty-two  thousand 
dollars  a  mile  until  the  western  base  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  was  reached,  and  thence  for  the  next  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  the  bond  issues  were  at  the  rate  of 
ninety-six  thousand  dollars  per  mile.f  With  a  million 
and  half  subscribed  by  the  counties,  twelve  millions 
by  the  state,  and  ninety-six  thousand  dollars  per  mile 
of  constructed  road  in  bonds,  the  builders  were  on  the 
way  to  fortune.     But  to  reach  the  path  which  ran  so 

*It  is  said  that  the  person  through  whose  instrumentality  the  mountains  were 
moved  to  Sacramento  was  John  Conness,  United  States  Senator  for  California. 

f'The  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  begin  at  Folsom,  on  the  American,  and  at 
Johnson's  Ranch  on  Bear  river;  the  line  of  foot-hills  running  through  or  near 
Lincoln  (about  15  miles  northerly  from  Folsom)  forming  a  piece  of  land  in  Sacra- 
mento valley,  between  the  foot-hills  and  Sacramento  river  of  about  30  miles  in 
length  and  20  in  width."     Report  of  Theodore  D.  Judah,  October  1,  1861,  p.  11-12. 


288  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

smoothly  there  were  yet  large  obstacles  to  overcome. 
To  meet  the  cost  of  construction  of  the  first  forty  miles 
required  by  congress  as  a  guarantee  of  the  purpose 
and  ability  of  the  company,  its  financiers  were  com- 
pelled to  borrow  on  their  personal  security.  They  were 
practically  without  capital  and  they  gave  their  personal 
notes  for  sums  greatly  beyond  their  ability  to  pay,  and 
in  this  were  helped  by  some  of  the  members  of  the 
Union  Pacific  company. 

The  road  was  opened  for  business  as  fast  as  built 
and  showed  a  profit  from  the  beginning.  On  June  4, 
1864,  the  road  was  finished  to  Newcastle  thirty-one 
miles,  and  the  books  showed  earnings  between  that  date 
and  September  14,  1864,  of  ^58,917.74,  above  operating 
expenses. 

Meanwhile  there  developed  very  considerable  oppo- 
sition to  the  road.  There  was  much  litigation  between 
the  counties  and  the  company  over  the  subsidies,  and  the 
newspapers  of  San  Francisco  had  from  the  first  ridiculed 
the  presumption  of  these  obscure  Sacramento  people  in 
thinking  they  could,  without  capital,  build  a  transconti- 
nental railroad.  The  stage  companies  and  all  persons 
whose  business  was  necessarily  interfered  with  by  the 
construction  of  a  railroad,  were  bitter  in  their  opposition 
to  the  "Dutch  Flat  Swindle,"  as  they  called  it.  They 
said  that  the  difficulties  in  crossing  the  heights  above 
Dutch  Flat  were  insuperable;  that  the  Central  Pacific 
managers  knew  such  to  be  the  fact,  and  that  all  they 
contemplated  was  to  get  up  high  enough  to  reach  and 
connect  with  their  Dutch  Flat  wagon  road  and  thereby 
monopolize   the   valuable   transportation   business   to 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  289 

and  from  the  Nevada  mines.  It  was  also  claimed  that 
Judah  knew  that  the  route  was  a  hopeless  one  and  that 
the  company  had  given  him  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  its  first  mortgage  bonds  not  to  expose  his 
knowledge  of  the  route. 

While  Huntington  looked  after  legislation  in  Wash- 
ington, Stanford  had  charge  of  that  in  the  west.  Not 
only  had  the  legislature  of  California  to  be  cared  for 
but  that  of  Nevada  also.  Stanford  had  successfully 
opposed  a  clause  in  the  constitution  of  that  state 
permitting  the  legislature  to  donate  to  the  first  railroad 
company  which  should  connect  Nevada  with  navigable 
waters  three  million  dollars  in  bonds  after  pleading 
in  vain  for  the  donation  to  be  made  direct  to  his  com- 
pany; and  the  first  legislature,  in  1864,  after  reciting 
the  fact  that  the  Central  Pacific  had  completed  but 
thirty  miles  of  its  road,  while  there  was  a  railroad 
thirty-eight  miles  long,  commencing  at  Freeport,  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Sacramento  river,  and 
extending  in  nearly  a  direct  line  with  the  capital  of 
Nevada,  and  which  would,  with  reasonable  encourage- 
ment, push  forward  to  that  point,  asked  congress  to 
grant  in  United  States  bonds  ten  millions  of  dollars 
to  the  first  corporation  which  should  complete  an 
unbroken  line  of  railway,  in  perfect  running  order,  from 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Sacramento  to  the  eastern 
base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  As  congress  had  already 
subsidized  the  Central  Pacific  company,  it  was  not  at 
all  likely  to  take  up  another  company  until  the  first 
had  demonstrated  its  inability  to  comply  with  the 
requirements  of  its  charter. 


290  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  passage  of  the  amended  railroad  act  of  1864 
made  a  change  in  the  policy  of  the  company.  The 
first  contracts  for  building  the  road  were  let  to 
Charles  Crocker  and  Company,  composed  of  Stanford, 
Crocker,  Huntington,  and  Hopkins,  and  by  them  let 
to  sub-contractors.  Now,  with  the  abundant  means 
supplied  by  the  state  and  the  general  government,  they 
concluded  to  accept  for  themselves  the  profits  to  be 
made  In  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  the  sub- 
contractors were  dismissed.  From  Newcastle  to  the 
eastern  boundary  of  California  the  road  was  built  by 
Charles  Crocker  and  Company  as  a  firm.  Then  they 
formed  the  Contract  and  Finance  company  and  set  out 
on  their  rapid  work  across  Nevada  and  Utah  to  meet  the 
Credit  Mobilier  of  America  which  was  constructing  the 
Union  Pacific.  What  their  profits  were  as  contractors 
we  do  not  know;  but  we  do  know,  through  congressional 
investigation,  that  the  Credit  Mobilier*  received  for 
building  the  Union  Pacific  road,  the  net  proceeds  of  the 
bonds  Issued  by  itself  and  by  the  government,  $50,863,- 
172.05,  covering  the  full  cost  of  the  road  and  a  little  more, 
and  In  addition,  $23,000,000  in  stock,  income  bonds,  and 
land  grant  bonds — being  a  profit  of  forty-five  per  cent. 
Through  an  injudicious  distribution  of  shares  of  the 
corporation  among  sundry  congressmen  and  senators, 
In  fear  of  adverse  legislation,  this  construction  company 
brought  upon  Itself  a  congressional  investigation  which 
proved  the  graveyard  of  some  very  high  reputations. 
The  Contract  and  Finance  company  did  no  such  foolish 
thing  and  were  not  investigated. 

*A  construction  company  originally  chartered  as  the  Pennsylvania  Fiscal  Agency 
in  1859.  The  stock  was  secured  by  Durant  and  his  associates  of  the  Union  Pacific 
company  and  the  name  changed. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  291 

The  managers  now  began  to  buy  in  the  stock  they 
had  previously  sold  for  the  purpose  of  launching  the 
company.  They  put  on  a  large  numxber  of  men  and 
pushed  the  work  vigorously.  As  it  was  difficult  to 
get  white  labor  for  railroad  work  in  the  state,  they  put 
on,  in  the  summer  of  1865,  about  two  thousand  China- 
men who  proved  excellent  workers.  A  large  number  of 
Chinamen  were  imported  for  the  purpose  and  during 
the  last  few  months  of  the  construction  period,  as  many 
as  ten  thousand  men,  mainly  Chinese,  were  in  the 
field.  The  work  was  in  charge  of  Crocker  and  it  was 
due  to  his  skill  as  an  organizer  and  strength  and  energy 
as  a  builder  that  it  went  forward  as  it  did.  The 
construction  of  a  railroad  from  Sacramento  over  the 
Sierra  Nevada  presented  difficulties  of  a  most  formi- 
dable character.  The  average  length  of  the  western 
slope  from  base  to  summit  is  about  seventy  miles  with 
the  lowest  pass  about  seven  thousand  feet  altitude. 
The  general  course  of  the  range  is  northwesterly  and 
the  slope  extends  therefore  in  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion, which  is  the  general  course  or  direction  of  the 
rivers  and  streams  thereon;  those  between  thirty- 
eight  and  a  half  and  forty-one  degrees  of  latitude, 
having  their  sources  near  the  summit,  being  the  north, 
middle,  and  south  forks  of  the  American,  the  Bear 
river.  Deer  creek,  north,  middle,  and  south  forks  of 
the  Yuba,  and  the  north,  middle,  and  south  forks 
of  the  Feather.  These  rivers  run  through  gorges  or 
caiions,  in  many  places  from  one  thousand  to  two 
thousand  feet  in  depth,  with  side  slopes  varying  from 
perpendicular  to  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  The 
branches  also  of  manv  of  these  rivers  have  worn  out 


292  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

gorges  as  deep  as  those  of  the  rivers  and  present 
physical  barriers  to  a  line  of  communication.  The 
ridges  formed  by  these  rivers  are  sharp  and  in  many 
places  so  narrow  on  top  as  to  leave  barely  room  for  a 
wagon  road  to  be  made  without  excavating  the  surface 
of  the  ridge.  The  line  of  top  or  crest  of  ridge  being  far 
from  uniform,  the  lowest  points  or  gaps  in  the  ridge  be- 
came commanding  points,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
carry  the  line  of  railroad  from  gap  to  gap,  passing 
around  the  intervening  hills  upon  their  side  slopes  or 
piercing  them  with  tunnels.  One  such  hill,  just  above 
Colfax,  is  Cape  Horn,  a  bold  rocky  bluff,  nearly 
perpendicular,  and  twelve  hundred  feet  high  above  the 
north  fork  of  the  American  river.  The  road  passes 
around  the  face  of  this  bluff,  about  two  hundred  feet 
below  the  table  above,  on  what  is  virtually  a  shelf  cut 
from  the  rock.  A  wagon  road  connecting  the  town  of 
Auburn  with  Forest  Hill  and  other  towns  on  the  east 
side  of  the  north  fork  of  the  American  is  excavated 
on  the  face  of  a  steep  side-hill,  which  is  about  ^ne 
thousand  feet  high,  following  the  bends  and  sinuosities 
of  the  river  which  is  reached  in  four  miles  of  road,  or 
a  total  of  eight  miles  in  length  for  the  two  sides,  with 
a  grade  varying  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  feet  to  the  mile.  Some  wagon  road  crossings 
are  even  more  difficult,  reaching  to  fifteen  hundred 
perpendicular  feet  with  descent  and  ascent  ten  miles 
in  length,  with  a  grade  varying  from  three  hundred  to 
four  hundred  feet  to  the  mile,  in  order  to  reach  across 
a  direct  line  of  about  three  miles.*     It  was  thus  seen 


*  Report  of  Judah,  1861,  p.  7-8. 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  293 

that  in  order  to  reach  the  summit  a  railroad  would  have 
to  avoid  the  crossing  of  any  of  the  caiions,  for  even  if 
practicable,  the  cost  would  be  prohibitory. 

Judah's  survey  therefore  crossed  no  rivers  but  laid 
its  course  along  an  unbroken  ridge  from  the  base  to 
the  summit  of  the  mountains.  From  Rocklin  to  Bear 
valley  the  ridge  lay  between  the  north  fork  of  the 
American  and  the  Bear  river.  These  rivers  gradually 
approach  each  other  until  at  Colfax  (Illinoistown),  they 
are  less  than  three  miles  apart,  and  at  no  time  thereafter 
is  the  distance  between  them  five  miles.  The  ravine  of 
Bear  river  widens  out  sixteen  miles  above  Dutch  Flat 
into  a  beautiful  valley  two  miles  long  and  one  mile  wide, 
called  Bear  valley.  Diminished  in  size  to  a  small  creek, 
Bear  river  passes  through  this  valley  and  loses  itself  in 
the  benches  above.  Into  this  valley  now  comes  the 
south  fork  of  the  Yuba  from  the  summit,  and  augmented 
by  many  large  branches,  forces  a  passage  through  the 
north  wall  of  the  valley  and  flows  to  the  northwest. 
Holding  to  the  ridge,  the  northern  border  of  which  is 
now  taken  by  the  south  fork  of  the  Yuba,  the  road 
passes  upward  and  enters  Summit  valley,  a  beautiful 
valley  two  and  a  half  miles  long  by  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  wide,  whence  the  summit  is  reached  at  Donner 
pass  at  an  elevation  of  seven  thousand  and  eighteen 
feet.  It  had  reached  that  elevated  station  by  a  maxi- 
mum grade  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  per  mile.* 
All  the  work  was  well  done.  Tunnels,  trestles,  cul- 
verts, etc.,  a  telegraph  line,  snow  sheds,  water  tanks. 


*Judah's  survey  shows  but  2.84  miles  at  116  feet  per  mile,  and  43.08  miles  at 
105  feet  per  mile. 


294  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

depots  and  all  the  equipment  of  a  first  class  line  were 
constructed  as  the  road  progressed. 

From  the  summit  looking  easterly  one  appears  to  be 
standing  upon  a  nearly  perpendicular  rock,  one  thou- 
sand feet  in  height.  Immediately  below  is  seen  a  valley 
from  one  to  two  miles  wide,  extending  from  the  Truckee 
river  to  the  foot  of  the  precipice,  with  Donner  lake 
occupying  the  upper  part  of  it.  Beyond  the  Truckee 
river  is  seen  the  second  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
and  beyond  that  rises  in  the  distance  the  Washoe 
mountains. 

A  cross  section  of  the  main  range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
presents  a  profile  showing  two  summits  about  thirty- 
five  miles  apart  with  a  range  of  elevated  table  land 
lying  between.  Lake  Tahoe  lies  in  this  valley  and  is 
surrounded  by  mountains  and  lofty  peaks  excepting  at 
one  point  on  its  western  shore  where  the  Truckee  river 
forms  its  outlet.  Running  first  northerly  about  twelve 
miles;  then  northeasterly  about  eighteen  miles;  thence 
sweeping  easterly  the  river  passes  through  the  second 
range  or  summit  to  the  Truckee  meadows;  thence 
through  the  Washoe  mountains  to  the  lower  crossing 
(Wadsworth) ;  thence  northerly  about  twenty  miles,  it 
finds  its  way  into  Pyramid  lake.  Thus,  by  following 
the  route  of  the  Truckee  river,  the  western  summit  was 
entirely  avoided. 

By  the  use  of  the  side-hill  of  the  spur  or  range  above 
Donner  lake  the  Truckee  river  was  reached  in  a  distance 
of  twelve  miles,  with  a  descending  grade  of  one  hundred 
and  five  feet  to  the  mile.  Thence  for  thirty-five  miles 
at  a  grade  of  thirty  feet  to  the  mile,  the  road  runs 
beside  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  Truckee  and  emerges 


RICHARD  TOBIN 
Born  at  Waterford,  Ireland,  in  1832;  died  in  San  Francisco, 
January  17,  1887;  came  to  California  in  1849.  When  a  child 
Mr.  Tobin  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Australia,  and  later 
the  family  removed  to  Chile  where  young  Tobin  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  Latin  which  proved  a  great  advantage 
in  after  life  when  he  entered  the  legal  profession.  In  1859 
Mr.  Tobin,  with  C.  D.  O'Sullivan,  Edward  Martin,  John 
Sullivan,  D.  J.  O'Callaghan,  and  others,  incorporated  the 
Hibernia  Savings  and  Loan  Society  under  the  general  laws  of 
California,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $600,000. 


Tssed . 
rrom  the  summit  1 

M  one 


the  pr- 


idW     .9^81  ni  fiimolilfiD  oJ  sraBD  ;^88l  ,^i  YiBijnfi|_ 


.;!:.-,i^,,/. 


;a    ,r\  "o^IeJ  3BW  nidqX  .iM 


Bb,  bS^/SMih^iffJAPS/r^  iNievacl 


v/fil  Ifiiano. 


Dtmg 


the  Sf 


cnuirel} 

By  t5  or  rangt  auove 

'^onne:  , .led  in  a  distnn ri- 

ding grade  of  one  hui; 

hirty-iive  mile.; 
ol  thirty  icet  lo  tiic  miie,  the  road 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  295 

from  the  Sierra  Nevada  into  the  Truckee  meadows,  a 
beautiful  grassy  plain,  where  the  Donner  party  had 
rested  three  or  four  days  in  October,  1846,  before 
attempting  the  ascent  of  the  mountains. 

With  the  assistance  of  a  paternal  government  the 
company  had  accomplished  its  work  in  spite  of  oppo- 
sition and  of  adverse  conditions,  and  now,  like  a  young 
giant  full  of  vigor,  was  ready  for  further  conquest.  It 
did  not  intend  to  rest,  but  was  determined  to  push 
forward  to  meet  the  Union  Pacific  at  Salt  Lake,  if 
possible,  and  bid  for  its  share  of  the  trade  of  the 
Mormon  settlements. 

Now  began  a  great  race  between  the  two  roads  for 
the  Utah  trade  and,  incidentally,  land  and  bonds.  The 
Pacific  railroad  bill  had  determined  that,  as  the  country 
between  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada 
was  mountainous  in  character,  the  bonds  issued  by  the 
government  should  be  double  the  amount  issued  for 
the  level  sections.  There  is  no  doubt  concerning  the 
mountainous  character  of  the  country,  but  the  route 
pursued  across  the  Great  Basin,  as  shown  by  Judah's 
report,  has  365  miles  with  a  grade  of  four  feet  per  mile 
or  less,  while  of  the  whole  line  of  555  miles,  539  had  a 
grade  not  exceeding  thirty-one  feet  to  the  mile. 

When  the  Central  Pacific  road  reached  the  boundary 
line  of  California,  the  Union  Pacific  had  constructed, 
from  the  Missouri  river,  550  miles  of  road  up  the 
valley  of  the  Platte.  Each  company  now  put  out  its 
best  effort.  Leaving  the  Truckee  river  at  the  lower 
crossing,  the  construction  company  of  the  Central 
Pacific  plunged  into  the  dreadful  Forty-five  Mile  desert, 
sometimes  called  Humboldt  desert,  which  had  proved 


296  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

so  deadly  to  the  emigrants  of  1849  and  1850.  Reaching 
the  Sink  of  the  Humboldt  the  road  followed  the  valley 
of  that  river  to  its  head  waters  at  Humboldt  Wells; 
thence  around  the  northern  end  of  Salt  Lake,  its 
completed  track  met  that  of  the  Union  Pacific  at 
Promontory  point,  fifty-three  miles  west  of  Ogden. 
The  rich  reward  granted  for  this  easy  portion  of  the 
road,  $64,000  in  bonds  and  12,800  acres  of  land  per 
mile,  spurred  each  company  to  its  greatest  activity. 
It  was  thfe  last  chance  at  the  national  treasury  and 
both  strained  every  nerve  to  accomplish  all  the  mileage 
possible.  The  Union  Pacific  threw  out  graders  into 
the  Humboldt  valley,  where  some  miles  of  track  were 
actually  laid  by  them,  with  which  they  never  made 
connection,  and  in  retaliation,  the  Central  Pacific  sent 
its  graders  east  of  Ogden,  filing  at  the  same  time  a  map 
of  its  route  to  Echo  summit  and  demanded,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  act  of  1864,  two-thirds  of  the  bonds 
allowable  for  the  division. 

The  Central  Pacific  now  endeavored  to  induce  con- 
gress to  make  the  legal  junction  of  the  roads  at  Ogden, 
but  this  congress  would  not  do,  it  being  in  evidence 
that  the  completed  track  of  the  Union  Pacific  was 
twenty-five  miles  west  of  Ogden  at  the  time  the  Central 
Pacific  was  seventy  miles  west.  The  Central  Pacific 
wished  to  buy  the  rights  of  the  Union  Pacific  west  of 
Ogden,  but  the  Union  Pacific  declined  to  sell.  On 
April  28,  1869,  the  completed  tracks  met,  as  stated, 
at  Promontory  point,  and  on  that  day  the  Central 
Pacific  performed  the  remarkable  feat  of  laying  in  one 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  297 

day  ten  miles  of  railroad.  Congress  by  joint  resolution 
provided  that  the  common  terminus  of  the  two  com- 
panies should  be  at  Ogden,  or  near  it;  that  the  Union 
Pacific  should  build  and  the  Central  Pacific  should  pay 
for  and  own  the  road  from  Ogden  to  Promontory  point, 
and  the  latter  obtained,  at  cost  price,  that  part  of  the 
Union  Pacific  road  from  Promontory  to  within  five 
miles  of  Ogden,  which  five  miles  the  Central  Pacific 
secured  by  lease. 

The  loth  of  May,  1869,  was  set  for  the  ceremony 
of  joining  the  roads  at  Promontory.  About  a  thousand 
persons  were  present  including  the  officers,  directors, 
and  employes  of  the  two  companies  with  their  invited 
guests,  a  delegation  from  Salt  Lake  City,  several 
companies  of  the  Twenty-first  infantry,  with  band, 
from  Camp  Douglas,  and  a  number  of  Indians.  The 
place  was  a  grassy  plain  between  green  hills  near  Great 
Salt  Lake.  At  eleven  o'clock  a  train  from  the  west 
drawn  by  a  decorated  engine  approached  the  gap  left 
between  the  rails.  From  the  east  came  another  train 
with  its  equally  decorated  locomotive  and  drew  up 
on  that  side  of  the  gap.  The  rails  were  laid  and  under 
the  ends  was  placed  the  last  tie,  a  beautifully  polished 
stick  of  California  laurel,  having  in  its  center  a  silver 
plate  bearing  the  names  of  the  officers  of  both  com- 
panies; a  spike  of  gold  was  placed  in  a  cavity  prepared 
for  it  and  driven  home  by  a  silver  hammer  in  the 
hands  of  President  Stanford  of  the  Central  Pacific, 
Then  followed  addresses,  music,  the  reading  of  con- 
gratulatory telegrams  from  east  and  west,  and  a  feast. 
Then  the  Union  Pacific  train  with  the  officers  of  the 


298  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

company  aboard  passed  over  the  connecting  rail  and 
backed  upon  its  own  track.  The  Central  Pacific 
train  ran  over  it  and  also  returned.  The  great  work 
was  accomplished. 

"What  was  it  the  engines  said, 
Pilots  touching — head  to  head, 
Facing  on  a  single  track, 
Half  a  world  behind  each  back? 
This  is  what  the  engines  said, 
Unreported  and  unread; 
With  a  prefatory  screech, 
In  a  florid  western  speech. 
Said  the  engine  from  the  west: 
'I  am  from  Sierra's  crest. 
And  if  altitude's  the  test. 
Well,  I  reckon,  its  confessed, 
That  I've  done  my  level  best.' 
Said  the  engine  from  the  east: 
'Those  who  work  best  talk  the  least. 
S'pose  you  whistle  down  your  brakes, 
What  you've  done  is  no  great  shakes. 
Pretty  fair — but  let  our  meeting 
Be  a  different  kind  of  greeting. 
Let  those  folks  with  champaign  stuffing, 
Not  their  engines,  do  the  puffing.' 
That  is  what  the  engines  said, 
Unreported  and  unread; 
Spoken  slightly  through  the  nose. 
With  a  whistle  at  the  close!" 

We  have  seen  the  organization  in  1862  of  the  Western 
Pacific  railroad  company  to  form  the  connecting  link 
between  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  and  the  assign- 
ment to  it  by  the  Central  Pacific  of  the  grant  and 
privileges  derived  from  the  Railroad  Act  of  1862.  This 
assignment  was  confirmed  by  congress  in  1865,  and  it 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  299 

received  in  United  States  bonds  $1,970,560.     In  1868 
the  Oakland  Water  Front  company  was  incorporated 
for  the   purpose  of  owning   and   constructing   docks, 
wharves,  piers,  etc.,  and  its  owners  were  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  Western  Pacific   Railroad   company. 
Occupying  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco 
opposite  the  city  of  that  name,  was  the  great  San 
Antonio  grant  given  to  Sergeant  Luis  Peralta  in  1820, 
comprising  eleven  leagues  of  land  and  extending  on  the 
bay  from  San  Leandro  creek  to  Point  Richmond.     Don 
Luis  divided  this  property  among  his  four  sons,  giving 
one-fourth  to  each;  the  division  lines  running  from  the 
bay  eastward.     The  grant  extended  to  deep  water  on 
the  bay  ("profunda  mar")  and  the  lines  of  the  survey 
ran  to  and  included  the  island  of  Yerba  Buena.     After 
the  coming  of  the  Americans  the  Peraltas  were  greatly 
troubled  with  squatters  who  conducted  themselves  in 
a  high  handed  manner.     Among  these  squatters  were 
Horace  W.  Carpentier,  Edson  Adams,  and  A.  J.  Moon, 
who  in    1850  obtained  each  a  lease  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  from  Domingo  Peralta.     Carpentier,  a 
lawyer,  gained  the  confidence  of  Domingo  Peralta  and 
his  brothers  and  was  employed  by  them  to  present 
their  claims  to  the  land  commission  and  secure  United 
States  patents  for  their  lands.     In  pursuance  of  his 
duty  towards  his  clients  Carpentier  had  a  new  survey 
made  of  the  grant  and  "surveyed  out"  all  the  water 
front  below  high  water  line.     In  the  meantime  quite  a 
village  had  been  formed  by  the  squatters  near  what  is 
now  the  foot  of  Broadway  and  was  known  by  the  name 
of  Contra  Costa.     Carpentier  went  before  the  legisla- 
ture in   May,    1852,   and  procured   the  incorporation 


300  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  the  town  of  Oakland,  and  had  the  legislature  grant 
to  it  all  the  water  front  of  the  town  between  high  water 
and  the  ship  channel.  A  board  of  five  trustees  con- 
sisting of  H.  W.  Carpentier,  Edson  Adams,  Albert  J. 
Moon,  Amidee  Maurier,  and  Albert  W.  Barrell  was 
elected.  Adams  and  Adoon  were  partners  of  Carpentier 
while  Maurier  and  Barrell  were  devoted  to  his  interest. 
Carpentier  did  not  qualify  as  a  trustee  of  the  town  and 
on  May  27,  1852,  the  board  passed  an  ordinance  grant- 
ing to  Carpentier  the  use  of  the  water  front,  from  high 
water  line  to  the  ship  channel  for  the  term  of  thirty- 
seven  years  with  all  rights  and  privileges  of  docks, 
wharves,  etc.,  in  consideration  of  the  building  of  a 
school  house  and  three  wharves  by  Carpentier.  These 
improvements  cost  Carpentier  between  thirty  and  forty 
thousand  dollars.  In  1854,  the  town  having  repented 
its  hasty  action  in  giving  away  its  water  front,  the 
board  of  trustees  passed  a  bill  providing  for  action  to 
recover  this  property,  which  bill  was  vetoed  by  Horace 
W.  Carpentier,  Mayor.  In  1867  the  Western  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  asked  for  a  terminus  on  the  Oakland 
water  front,  and  found  that  the  city  had  no  property  to 
offer.  A  suit  was  then  begun  to  set  aside  the  deed  of 
1852,  but  the  city  was  beaten.  In  April,  1868,  the 
Oakland  Water  Front  company  was  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stock  of  fifty  thousand  shares  of  par  value 
of  one  hundred  dollars  each,  of  which  Horace  W.  Car- 
pentier owned  twenty-five  thousand  shares,  Leland 
Stanford  twenty  thousand  and  John  B.  Felton  five 
thousand.  Carpentier  deeded  to  the  corporation  all  the 
water  front  of  the  city  of  Oakland  as  described  in 
the  incorporation  act  of  1852,  and  on  April  i,  1868,  the 


OAKLAND 
Lake  Merritt 


elec 


Oakland,  and  had  the  let^islatir 
town  b 

iSLees 

'    Bar: 


/ater  fi 

erm  of  thi 

..-■aii'.iiii  i; 

■nticr.     1 

..•i/Xi 

■^a'l^.jpflBJ 

iving  repente 

ern  Pacifii 


> rated 


hares, 
ded  to  the  corpoi  atio 
n\  I,  1 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  301 

Water  Front  company  conveyed  to  the  Western  Pacific 
railroad  company  five  hundred  acres  of  this  tide  land. 

In  1867-8,  the  legislature  granted  the  Terminal 
Central  Pacific  railroad  company  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  of  tide  and  submerged  land  with  two  hundred  feet 
right  of  way  on  the  Alameda  shore  and  thirty  acres 
of  tide  lands  in  front  of  Mission  bay,  San  Francisco, 
for  terminal  purposes  to  each  the  Southern  Pacific  and 
Western  Pacific  railroad  companies,  and  with  the  build- 
ing of  piers  and  ferry  steamers  the  line  from  the  Missouri 
river  to  the  Pacific  ocean  at  San  Francisco  was  complete. 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  the  grand  old  man  of  the  west, 
whose  strong  hand  had  for  so  many  years  controlled 
its  destinies,  was  dead.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
accomplishment  of  the  project  that  was  so  near  his 
heart.  It  was  not  built  on  his  lines  or  according  to 
his  plans.  The  great  power  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  owners  of  the  road;  the  enormous  credits  furnished 
them  and  the  millions  of  acres  of  public  lands  given 
them  would  have  met  with  his  strong  disapproval  and 
elicited  his  bitterest  denunciation. 

The  building  of  the  road  did  not  bring  peace  to  the 
world,  as  some  of  its  enthusiastic  supporters  antici- 
pated, nor  did  it  prove  to  be  a  road  to  India,  as  the 
opening  of  the  Suez  canal  about  the  same  time  secured 
that  route  for  England;  yet  it  was,  in  a  way,  a  road  to 
Far  Cathay  and  the  Orient.  The  cargoes  of  silks,  teas, 
and  such  valuable  goods  come  into  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  are  transferred  to  cars  on  the  wharves  and 
are  sent  by  special  trains  across  the  American  continent 
for  transshipment  to  Europe.  Neither  does  the  United 
States  control  the  carrying  trade  of  the  Pacific.     Her 


302  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

flag  has  all  but  disappeared  from  the  seas.  Fenced  in 
by  a  high  wall  of  protection  her  ship  builders  cannot 
compete  with  the  cheap  materials  and  low  priced  labor 
of  Europe,  nor  can  the  American  ship  with  its  well 
paid  crew  compete  in  oversea  trade  with  the  foreign 
ship  operated  at  one-half  her  expense. 

I  cannot,  in  the  space  allowed  for  this  chapter,  go 
into  the  details  of  Central  Pacific  expansion  in  Cali- 
fornia, whereby  the  original  quartette  of  railroad 
builders  became  masters  of  almost  the  entire  carrying 
trade  of  the  Pacific  coast,  but  will  confine  myself  to 
the  construction  of  the  main  line.  In  1871  the  directors 
of  the  Central  Pacific  purchased  a  three-quarter 
interest  in  the  California  Pacific  road,  a  line  running 
from  Sacramento  to  Vallejo  and  connecting  with  San 
Francisco  by  steamer.  By  extending  this  line  from 
Vallejo  to  Benicia  and  crossing  the  straits  of  Carquinez 
by  ferry  boat  to  their  Southern  Pacific  line  at  Port 
Costa,  they  had  a  direct  line  of  ninety  miles  from 
Sacramento  to  San  Francisco  as  against  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  by  the  Western  Pacific.  This  became 
and  continues  to  be  the  final  link  in  the  main  line  of 
the  Pacific  railroad. 

The  bonds  issued  to  the  Central  Pacific  company 
and  to  the  Western  Pacific,  to  aid  in  constructing  the 
road  amounted  to  $27,855,680.  These  bonds  maturing 
in  1898  were  retired  in  1899  by  the  acceptance  by  the 
government  of  notes  of  the  company,  at  three  per  cent 
for  $58,812,715.60,  covering  both  the  government  lien 
and  the  companies'  first  mortgage  bonds,  payable, 
one-tenth  each  year  for  ten  years,  and  secured  by  the 
companies'  four    per    cent    refunding    bonds.     These 


THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  303 

notes  have  all  been  paid.  The  actual  cost  of  building 
the  Central  and  Western  Pacific  is  not  known;  but 
according  to  the  estimates  made  at  the  time  the  real 
cost  did  not  exceed  ^40,000,000  for  which  the  builders 
received  ^55,711,360  in  bonds.  In  addition,  there  was 
the  land  grant*  and  the  road  with  all  its  equipment — 
a  free  gift  from  the  people.  Besides  its  main  line — 
San  Francisco  to  Ogden — the  Central  Pacific  owns,  in 
California,  623.07  miles  of  railroad,  while  its  owners 
have  built  and  bought  the  Southern  Pacific  lines, 
mileage  3332.33,  the  South  Pacific  Coast  railroad, 
98.66  miles,  the  Oregon  and  California  railroad,  665.04 
miles  and  other  lines  connected  with  the  Southern 
Pacific,  making  with  those  stated  above  9,109  miles 
of  road,  not  counting  second  tracks  or  sidings,  and  also 
several  steamship  companies,  both  deep  sea  vessels 
and  inland  waterway  lines.  The  four  small  merchants 
of  Sacramento  certainly  showed  remarkable  ability 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  various  enterprises.  They 
became  great  magnates  and  died  very  wealthy  men, 
leaving  fortunes  estimated  at  from  ^40,000,000  to 
^65,000,000  each;  and  whatever  may  be  the  opinion 
in  regard  to  their  methods — such  as  the  shutting  out 
of  competitive  lines,  discriminations,  preferences,  and 
advantages;  the  fixing  of  rates  to  cover  all  that  the 
traffic  would  bear;  the  resistance  of  taxation  and  the 
repudiation  of  all  obligations  to  the  government  that 
had  given  to  the  corporation  life  and  being,  with  the 
corruption  of  public  officials  and  legislatures,  and  all 

*The  total  grant  to  the  Central  Pacific  and  its  extensions  was  9,379,141  acres; 
to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  14,539,804;  and  to  the  Southern  Pacific,  9,012,146 
acres;  all  belonging  to  the  Central  Pacific  group  of  owners. 


304  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  thousand  and  one  offences  against  the  people — there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  railroad  has  been  of  enormous 
benefit  to  California  and  the  Pacific  coast  territory. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHINESE  IMMIGRATION 
AND  THE  SAND-LOT  AGITATION 


IT  has  been  claimed  that  the  aborigines  of  the 
Pacific  coast  of  North  America  are  descended 
from  the  Chinese.  However  that  may  be,  the 
first  Chinese  in  modern  California  were  two  men 
and  one  woman  who  came  from  Hong  Kong  in  the 
bark  Eagle  in  1848  with  Charles  V.  Gillespie,  who 
proposed  to  introduce  Chinese  immigrants  into  Cali- 
fornia. By  January,  1850,  the  number  of  Chinese  in 
California  had  increased  to  787  men  and  two  women. 
1  They  were  gladly  received  and  treated  with  consider- 
ation, and  on  the  occasion  of  the  services  on  the  death 
of  President  Taylor,  held  in  San  Francisco  August  29, 
1850,  they  were  invited  to  join  and  were  given  a 
prominent  place  in  the  procession;  and  again  at  the 
celebration  in  San  Francisco  of  the  admission  of 
California  into  the  Union,  a  company  of  Chinese  in 
rich  native  costumes,  under  their  own  marshall,  and 
carrying  a  blue  silk  banner  inscribed  "The  China 
Boys,"  formed  a  noticeable  and  attractive  feature  of 
the  procession.  In  January,  1852,  the  Chinese  in 
California  had  increased  to  7,512  men  and  eight 
women  but  during  that  year  the  immigration  became 
very  large  and  there  were  added  to  the  Chinese  popula- 
tion in  California  18,024  men  and  fourteen  women. 
I  In  Governor  McDougal's  message  to  the  legislature 
January  7,  1852,  he  said,  in  reference  to  the  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands  given  the  state  by  congress  in 
September,  1850,  that  a  large  portion  of  the  state,  now 
lying  in  a  useless  condition,  could,  by  a  system  of  grants 
to  settlers  on  condition  of  reclamation  within  a  certain 
time,  be  made  productive,  contribute  largely  to  the 
state,  "  and  induce  a  further  immigration  of  the  Chinese 


308  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

— one  of  the  most  worthy  classes  of  our  newly  adopted 
citizens — to  whom  the  climate  and  the  character  of 
these  lands  are  peculiarly  suited."  Like  the  white 
immigrants,  the  Chinese  first  flocked  to  the  mines, 
where  they  worked,  as  a  rule,  only  the  claims  abandoned 
by  white  miners,  being  satisfied  with  small  returns, 
/ror  a  while  they  were  unmolested  but  soon  the  desire 
to  expel  "foreign  vagrants"  from  the  mines  manifested 
itself  and  the  Chinese,  Mexicans,  and  South  Americans 
were  the  chief  sufferers.^  At  the  behest  of  the  miners 
the  legislature  imposed  a  tax  of  twenty  dollars  per 
month  on  all  foreign  miners,  in  the  form  of  a  license, 
but  the  tax  was  not  rigidly  enforced  against  any  save 
Chinese  and  Spanish-Americans.  Unable  to  make  a 
living  at  the  mines,  by  reason  of  the  oppressive  tax 
and  the  unfriendly  attitude  of  the  miners,  the  Chinese 
soon  began  to  branch  out  into  other  occupations. 
They  hired  out  as  household  servants  and  as  laborers; 
they  became  laundry  men;  they  established  bars  and 
restaurants  in  many  of  the  mining  towns  and  turned 
their  attention  successfully  towards  many  industries 
which  they  thought  would  not  interfere  with  white 
labor) 

So  oppressive  was  this  foreign  miners'  tax  and  so 
difficult  to  collect  that  the  legislature  repealed  it  in 
185 1,  and  later,  in  1852,  reenacted  it  at  the  reduced 
rate  of  three  dollars  per  month;  then  increased  it  to 
four  dollars  per  month  and  after  several  changes  it 
remained  at  that  figure  for  many  years. 
(5  frhe  large  increase  in  the  Chinese  immigration  in 
1 85 1  and  1852  began  to  arouse  the  dislike  of  the 
laboring  classes.)   Their  industry,  thelF  econo'myTtheir 


^'^/)p. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  309 

adaptability  to  any  class  of  work,  excited  the  prejudice 
and  ill-will  of  those  who  could  not  see  any  value  to 
the  country  in  their  labor.  The  Chinese  laborers  came 
to  the  country  under  a  system  of  contract  by  which 
their  passage  was  paid  and  they  were  to  labor  for  a 
stated  term  at  certain  wages,  and  the  business  of  hiring 
them  out  and  administrating  their  affairs  generally 
was  in  the  hands  of  associations  organized  in  accord- 
ance with  Chinese  laws  and  to  these  associations  or 
companies  they  owed  fealty.  These  organizations, 
known  as  the  Six  Companies,*  became  very  wealthy 
and  powerful.  They  had  their  own  tribunals  whose 
processes  and  decrees  were  executed  swiftly  and  with-  '^^^''u* 
out  regard  to  the  law  of  the  land.  They  protected  their 
officers — known  to  the  white  men  by  the  name  of  "high 
binders,"  or  "hatchet-men"  —  whenever  they  were 
brought  into  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  state  through 
the  carrying  out  of  their  own  decrees,  (and  it  is  seldom 
the  state  can  secure  the  conviction  of  a  Chinaman 
who  has  done  execution  on  the  body  of  an  unfortunate 
offender  of  Chinese  company  law^ 

The  coolie  was  not  bound  to  his  company  indefinitely. 
When  he  had  paid  all  claims  against  him  he  could  walk 
forth,  a  free  man,  to  come  and  go  as  he  listed.  One 
of  the  agreements  to  which  the  company  bound  itself 
was  to  return  the  immigrant  to  China,  dead  or  alive. 
If  the  immigrant  elected  to  remain  in  America,  well 
and  good;  but  if  he  died  in  service,  his  bones  were 
shipped  to  China. 

*Ning  Yung,  Hop  Wo,  Kong  Chow,  Yung  Wo,  Sam  Yup,  and  Tan  Wo. 


310  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Notwithstanding  the  great  need  of  California  for 
labor,  the  cry  was  early  raised  that  the  presence  of  the 
Chinese  in  the  country  tended  to  injure  the  interests 
of  the  working  classes  and  degrade  labor.  It  was 
argued  that  no  good  could  come  from  allowing  an 
inferior  race,  not  in  bondage  and  not  citizens,  to 
compete  in  the  labor  market.  rThey  simply,  by  their 
numbers  and  by  taking  less  wages  than  white  men, 
deprived  the  latter  of  the  money  they  should  have 
earned,  and  instead  of  investing  it  in  the  state,  carried 
it  to  China. 

"Then  I  looked  up  to  Nye, 

And  he  gazed  upon  me, 
And  he  rose  with  a  sigh, 

And  said,  'Can  this  be? 
We  are  ruined  by  Chinese  cheap  labor,' 
And  he  went  for  that  heathen  Chinee."  ] 

But  the  economic  objection  \vas_  no^  the_onr)''  one 
urged  against  Chinese  immigration. (firThe  habits  and 
practices  of  this  people  were  abominable  and  their 
presence  in  any  number,  as  the  Chinese  quarter  of  a 
city,  was  objectionable  and  deprecative  of  real  estate 
values.  However  neat  and  clean  the  individual  China- 
man appears  to  be,  collectively  they  herd  together 
in  the  closest  quarters,  sleeping  as  many  as  can  be 
packed  into  space,  without  ventilation,  and  they  live 
surrounded  by  filth  that  smells  to  heaven.*  Their 
opium  dens  are  scenes  of  disgust  and  horror,  and  their 
ideas  of  morality  are  widely  different  from  those  of 
w^estern  nations.     They  are  inveterate  gamblers;  their 

*When  the  Chinese  quarter  of  San  Francisco  was  being  rebuilt  after  its  purification 
by  fire  in  1906,  it  was  remarked  that  about  the  first  thing  reconstructed  was  the 
smell. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  311 

games  are  conducted  under  the  very  noses  of  the 
Chinatown  squad,  and  it  is  common  belief  that  they 
pay  liberally  for  police  protection^ 

Many  laws  have  been  enacted  by  the  legislature, 
such  as  imposing  heavy  lines  upon  persons  bringing 
to  these  shores  any  subjects  of  China  or  Japan  without 
first  presenting  to  the  commissioner  of  immigration 
evidences  of  good  character;  forbidding  the  employ- 
mentof  Chinese  on  public  works  of  any  kind;  forbid- 
ding the  employment  of  Chinese  in  the  construction 
of  canals  provided  for  in  the  irrigation  district  act  of 
1876;  forbidding  aliens  debarred  from  citizenshipjrom 
acquiring^itle  to  real  estate;  these  and  many  other  laivs 
and  o^rdinances  were  set  a^ide  by  the  supreme  court. 

(C)n  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  were  the  best,  most 
faithful,  most  easily  managed,  and  most  reliable  of 
laborers.  In  California  where  the  need  was  so  great 
for  all  kinds  of  labor,  they  were  almost  invaluable. 
Intelligent,  quick  to  learn  and  understand,  they  made 
most  excellent  household  servants;  honest  and  capable, 
they  filled  all  s«ajdes  of  house  service,  even  to  purveyors 
and  stewardii^jln  gardening,  farming,  viticulture, 
horticulture,  laundrying,  mining,  lumbering,  and  in  the 
great  fisheries,  protected  by  laws  and  by  the  better 
sentiment  of  the  intelligent  and  right  minded,  the 
Chinese  held  their  ground;  were  m_  constant  demand, 
and  came  at  last  to  engage  in  manufactures,  such  as 
shoemaking,  cigarmaking,  ready  made  clothing,  and 
other  trades.)  The  railroads  would  hardly  have  been 
built  when  they  were,  nor  would  the  fruit  of  California 
be  picked  today  without  their  help.  We  have  seen 
their  employment  in  the  work  of  the  Pacific  railroad. 


312  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

In  the  days  «f  the  unrestricted  immigration  of  the 
Burlingame  treaty  the  Chinese  six  companies  would 
take  a  contract  to  furnish  any  responsibFe  corporation 
with  as  many  cooUes  as  desired;  the  work  was  satis- 
factorily done  and  the  laborers  did  not  strike.  This 
was  a  most  serious  grievance  on  the  part  of  othex 
foreign  lal^qrers,  not  more  American  in  spirit  than 
they,  but  who  had  been  admitted  to  citizenship  and 
enjoyed  political  privileges. 

"In  1852  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  California 
legislature  whose  object  was  to  provide  for  the  enforce- 
ment in  the  courts  of  the  state  of  contracts  made  in 
China.  The  bill  received  a  favorable  report  by  a 
select  committee  to  whom  it  was  referred  but  it  was 
opposed  by  a  minority  report  which  claimed  that  its 
object  was  to  introduce  the  cheap  labor  of  Asia  and  put 
it  in  competition  with  the  labor  of  our  own  people. 
Under  this  bill,  it  was  contended,  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment could  send  to  us  not  only  its  paupers  but  its 
criminals  as  well.  (A  government  as  skillful  in  tact  as 
that  of  China  woula  not  fail  to  perceive  the  advantage 
of  permitting  its  criminals  to  emigrate.  From  the 
corrupt  conduct  of  Chinese  officials  in  the  opium  trade, 
it  was  to  be  expected  that  every  malefactor  in  their 
prisons  would  be  sent  to  California  as  a  contract  laborer. 
Criminals,  it  was  true,  had  not  come  in  numbers 
because  the  Chinese  in  California  had  been  sent  by 
contractors  who  held  their  families  as  hostages;  but 
if  the  system  had  so  far  worked  well,  it  was  probably 
only  owing  to  the  limited  number  sent.^  However,  the 
allowance  of  this  immigration  and  the  commingling 
of  races  would  expose  our  own  people  to  pestilence  as 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  313 

foul  as  leprosy  and  the  plague,  which  with  the  howlings 
of  insanity  would  be  likely  to  devastate  the  land. 
Instead  of  this,  it  was  the  policy  of  the  government  to 
elevate  the  people;  and  to  do  so  its  labor  would  have 
to  be  protected  and  not  degraded. 

(buch    were    the    arguments    adduced    against    the  ^^^^ 
Chinese   at  the  beginning  of  the  movement  against    "^ 
them,  and  the  bill  was  defeated  April  I2th.^  Additional 
impetus  was  given  the  anti-Chinese  movement  by  a_ 
special  niessage  sent  to  the  legislature  by  Governor  John 
Bigler,  April  23,  1852,  in  whic^  he  said  that  it  was  very 
important   to_adopt   measures   to   check   the  tide  of 
Chinese   immigration.     The   message   alluded   to   the 
importation   of~~coolies   under   contract    and    held   it 
unsafe  to  admit  them  as  citizens  and  unwise  to  receive 
them  as  jurors  or  permit  them  to  testify  in  court,  if, 
as  he  assumed,  they  were  ignorant  of  the  solemn  char- 
acter and  indifferent  to  the  solemn  obligations  of  an 
oath  to  speak  the  truth)    The  coolies,  he  said,  were 
given    free    passage   out    to    California    and    back   to 
China  with  wages  of  from  three  to  four  dollars  per 
month  while  the  usual  wages  to  coolies  in  China  was  one 
dollar  per  month  and  enough  food  to  sustain  life.    /Nlost   ^^'v-,>, 
of  the  coolies  sent  here  were  married  and  while  they  ^^ 

were  absent,  from  one  dollar  and  a  half  to  two  dollars 
per  month  was  paid  to  their  families  for  subsistence, 
the  amounts  deducted  from  their  wages,  and  their 
families  were  retained  as  hostages  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  their  contracts  for  labor.  These  con- 
tracts were  against  good  order  and  the  solid  interests  of 
our  society  and  ought  not  to  be  recognized  or  enforced 
within  the  limits  of  this  state;  the  governor  proposed 


314  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

such  an  exercise  of  the  taxing  power  by  the  state 
as  would  check  the  immigration,  and  he  recommended 
a  demand  by  the  state  that  congress  should  prohibit 
the  coolies  shipped  to  California  under  contracts  from 
laboring  in  the  minesj 

The  Chinese  objected  to  some  of  the  governor's 
assertions  and  appeared  before  a  legislative  committee 
and  claimed  that  their  testimony  was  not  received  in 
controversies  with  Americans  and  that  they  were 
taxed  without  being  protected.  They  said  that  some 
of  their  people  had  been  brought  here  under  contracts 
to  labor  for  employers,  but  that  the  practice  had  been 
found  unprofitable  and  had  been  abandoned.  Most 
all  had  come  as  their  ow^n  masters  and  with  their  own 
means.  Some  had  borrowed  money  and  pledged  their 
property;  some  had  agreed  to  give  the  proceeds 
of  their  labor  for  a  certain  time,  and  som.e  had 
pledged  their  children  to  be  owned  as  slaves  in  case  of 
non-payment.  They  estimated  the  Chinese  capital 
employed  in  this  state,  other  than  that  employed  in 
mining,  at  two  millions  of  dollars.* 

Qn  1867,  Anson  Burlingame,  who  had  been  minister 
of  the  United  States  to  China,  was  appointed  by  the 
government  of  that  country  envoy  extraordinary  and 
minister  plenipotentiary  to  head  a  Chinese  diplomatic 
mission  to  the  United  States  and  the  principal  European 
nations.  He  reached  the  United  States  in  March,  1868, 
and  on  the  28th  of  July  of  that  year  concluded  a  series 
of  articles  supplementary  to  the  Read  treaty  of  1858 
(a  modification  of  the  Cushing  treaty  of  1844  and  1850). 
This  was  later  known  as  the  Burlingame  treaty  and 

*Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IF,  p.  no. 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
The  Flower  \'endors 
Scene   at   corner  of    Kearny   and   Market   streets.     This 
sidewalk  flower  market  extends  throughout  the  year,  and  a 
few  cents  will  buy  a  large  bunch  of  flowers. 


:f   the 

recommendiri 


!vea  ir. 

'Hie 

atracts 

y:>no'AhM.-i  iki^ia  the  practice  had  hcc-^ 


Read  treaty 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  315 

ratifications  thereof  were  exchanged  at  Peking,  Novem-  ^c^^c^i/s/c^j^ 
ber  23,  1869.  The  treaty  gives  China  the  right  to  ^t^oA^-e.-y^^ 
appoint  at  ports  in  the  United  States  consuls  who  shall 
enjoy  the  same  privileges  and  immunities  as  those 
enjoyed  by  the  consuls  of  Great  Britain  and  Russia, 
and  provides  that  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  China 
of  every  religious  persuasion  and  Chinese  subjects  in 
the  United  States  shall  enjoy  entire  liberty  of  conscience 
and  shall  be  exempt  from  all  disability  or  persecution 
on  account  of  their  religious  faith  or  worship  in  either 
country,  and  grants  certain  privileges  to  citizens  of 
either  country  residing  in  the  other,  the  privilege 
of  naturalization,  however,  being  specifically  withheld. 
Among  these  privileges  was  that  of  the  right  of  admis- 
sion to  the  public  schools  of  the  United  States  and  the 
establishment  of  American  schools  in  China.  ) 

Against  this  liberal  and  just  policy  the  anti-Chinese 
party  in  California  protested;  and  as  the  years  passed 
rebelled  more  and  more  strenuously.   (^In  response  to      yeesf^Ns-c: 
agitation   in   California   congress^  passed   several   acts      ^^f  TArto 
affecting  the  Chinese  not  considered  as  being  in  viola- 
tion to  the  treaty,  such  as  prohibiting  the  bringing 
to  the  country  of  any  person  under  compulsion,  for 
which  a  penalty  of  ^2,000  fine  and  a  year's  imprison- 
ment was  provided:     intended  to  prevent  the  impor- 
tatioa-of  Chinese  women  for  immoral  purposes,  and 
the  importation  of  laborers  under  contract  was  made 
subject  to  a  penalty  of  ^500.^  But  none  of  this  legis- 
lation could  reach  the  real  evils  of  which  the  working    Y^^t.  V^ 
men  of  California  complained;  the  greatest  of"  which 
wasl  thaF  the  Chinese  were  absorbing  the  industries_   v^x 
of  California  to  the  exclusion  of  the  white  workmen. 


316  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

(Many  efforts  were  made  by  the  California  delegation 
in  congress  to  change  some  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Burlingame  treaty  but  in  vain.  They  were  accused  of 
having  a  hysterical  mania  on  the  Chinese  question, 
and  it  was  determined  by  eastern  senators  to  extend 
to  this  race  the  constitutional  provisions  which  the 
authors  of  our  organic  law  provided  for  the  people  of 
enlightened  nations,  and  they  insisted  that  the  majority 
of  the  people  of  California,  of  all  classes,  were  as  much 
governed  by  jealousy  as  was  a  disorderly  alien  element 
whose  doings  had  been  bruited  by  a  sensational  press 
at  home,  and  freely  criticised  by  the  press  abroad.* 

Meanwhile,  under  the  Burlingame  treaty,  the  Chinese 
continued  to  come  in  great  numbers.  The  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  company  put  on  a  line  of  steamers 
between  San  Francisco  and  Chinese  ports  in  1867,  and 
these  steamers,  on  the  inward  voyage,  were  crowded 
with  Chinese  immigrants  whose  landing  was  the 
occasion  of  riot  and  disorder.  Wagons  bringing 
Chinese  from  the  mail  dSck  to  the  Chinese  quarter 
were  followed  by  crowds  of  men  and  half-grown  boys 
(hoodlums)  who  with  hoots  and  verbal  abuse  pelted 
them  with  stones  and  other  missives  without  inter- 
ference from  the  police.  Not  only  were  the  Chinese 
exposed  to  attacks  upon  tneir  camps  in  the  mining 
regions,  but  riots  occurred  in  various  cities,  and  Chinese 
laundries  were  sacked  and  burned  and  the  workers 
badly  beaten  and  killed. )  Governor  Booth,  in  his 
inaugural  address,  December  8,  1871,  said:  "Mob 
violence  is  the  most  dangerous  form  in  which  the  law 
can  be  violated,  not  merely  in  its  immediate  outrage 

•Bancroft,  History  of  California,  Vol.  VII,  p.  346. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  317 

committed,  but  in  the  results  which  often  follow — 
communities  debauched,  jurors  intimidated,  and  courts 
controlled  by  the  political  influence  of  the  number  that 
are  guilty.  The  unsuccessful  prosecutions  for  the 
crimes  of  a  mob  teach  that  the  number  and  boldness  of 
the  prepetrators  too  often  give  immunity  to  the  offense; 
and  not  only  is  the  crime  unpunished,  but  justice  is 
mocked  in  her  very  temples  by  the  erection  of  a  tribunal 
higher  than  the  law.  And  when,  to  all  this,  banded 
ruffianism  selects  for  its  victims  a  race  notoriously 
defenseless;  when  pillage  and  murder  are  its  exploits, 
the  race  from  which  such  wretches  are  recruited,  the 
community  which  suffers  such  deeds  to  be  enacted, 
the  oiiicials  who  stand  supinely  by  without  an  effort 
to  prevent  the  crime,  are  sharers  in  a  common  disgrace; 
and  the  statute  which  prevents  the  victim  from  testi- 
fying, becomes  party  to  the  offense.  I  trust  that 
during  my  admir^istration  the  spirit  of  lawless  violence, 
which  has  sometimes  disgraced  our  past,  may  never 
be  exhibited.  Should  it  be,  there  will  be  no  exertion 
spared  on  the  part  of  the  executive  to  extend  to  all, 
from  the  humblest  to  the  highest,  the  sovereign  pro- 
tection of  the  law  and  to  visit  the  guilty  with  the 
punishment  their  crimes  deserve.  "*  \  The  statute  re- 
ferred to  by  the  governor  was  one  excluding  Indians 
and  negroes  or  mulattoes  from  giving  evidence  in  favor 
of  or  against  a  white  person  either  in  civil  or  criminal 
cases,  adopted  in  1850,  and  enlarged  by  Chief  Justice 
Hugh  C.  Murray  of  the  state  supreme  court  in  1854. 
The  chief  justice  held  that  the  word  "Indian"  as  used 
in  the  statute,  included  not  only  the  North  American 

*Stnate  Journal,  1871-1872,  p.  115-J16. 


318  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Indians  but  the  whole  Mongolian  race.  He  acknow- 
ledged that  the  word,  as  commonly  used  at  the  present 
day,  was  specific  and  not  generic,  and  referred  only  to 
North  American  Indians;  but  he  claimed  that  as  in 
the  days  of  Columbus  all  the  countries  washed  by  the 
Chinese  waters  were  denominated  the  Indies,  therefore 
all  the  Asiatics  were  Indians  and  inhibited  by  statute 
from  testifying  against  a  white  man;  and  he  said: 
"The  anomalous  spectacle  of  a  distinct  people — living  in 
our  community,  recognizing  no  laws  of  this  state  except 
through  necessity,  bringing  with  them  their  prejudices 
and  national  feuds  in  which  they  indulge  in  open 
violation  of  law,  whose  mendacity  is  proverbial,  a 
race  of  people  whom  nature  has  marked  as  inferior 
and  who  are  incapable  of  progress  or  intellectual 
development  beyond  a  certain  point  as  their  history 
has  shown,  differing  in  language,  opinion,  color,  and 
physical  conformation,  between  whom  and  ourselves 
nature  has  placed  an  impassable  difference — is  now 
presented;  and  for  them  is  claimed,  not  only  the  right 
to  swear  away  the  life  of  a  citizen,  but  the  further 
privilege  of  participating  with  us  in  administrating  the 
affairs  of  the  government."*  The  penal  code  sub- 
mitted  by  the  code  commissioners  of  1872  remedied 
^  this  condition  by  providing  that  Indians  and  Chinese 
should  be  allowed  to  testify  in  the  courts  the  same  as 
white  persons. 

On  the  part  of  employers  it  was  argued  that  certain 

'  manufactories  could  not  be  operated  without  Chinese 

cheap  labor;  that  railroads  could  not  be  built  without 

*  People  vs.  Hall,  4  California,  p.  399-4.03-     Cited  by  Hittell,  History  of  California, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  112-113. 


SAN  FRANCISCO 

Union  Square 

This  is  one  of  the  smaller  squares  and  is  in  the  heart  of  the 
retail  district. 


i>i«<«n»r,ir«lHg|Utt'  ?il»*BaHar. 


ed  oiii) 
■^^••'t  as  III 
by  the 
rilnated  the  Indies^  therefore 

statute 

n;   ana   ne   said' 

"ople — living  ifi 

is  state  except 

them  their  prejudices 

'  e  in  open 

1..   pioverbial,   n 

larked  as  inferior 

sHj  io  cft^^ri  1  j'ifiupsi^nKB^o^irb^noo^iritritellectua! 

oin«l'^ifMV  history 
color,   -nlr 


iurther 


inedied 


not  be  viihout 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  319 

it;  and  that  house-servants  could  not  be  obtained 
except  from  among  this  people.  Stanford  said  of  them 
that  they  were  quiet,  peaceable,  industrious,  and 
economical — ready  and  apt  to  learn  all  the  different 
kinds  of  work  required  in  railroad  building,  and  quite 
as  efficient  as  white  laborers;  and  he  further  said  that 
without  them  it  would  be  impossible  to  complete  the 
western  portion  of  the  Pacific  railroad  within  the  time 
required  by  the  acts  of  congress.  In  regard  to  domestic 
service,  it  was  claimed  that  a  Chinaman  would  do 
more  and  better  work  in  the  kitchen  than  a  female 
cook,  and  that  on  the  farm  he  was  indispensable. 

(Meanwhile  the  agitation  for  the  restriction  or  1^ 
prohibition  of  Chinese  immigration  continued.  The 
Californians  sent  delegations  to  congress  and  congress 
sent  investigation  commissions  to  California,  and 
finally,  in  1880,  the  president  appointed  three  com- 
missioners, James  B.  Angell  of  Michigan,  John  F. 
Swift  of  California,  and  William  Henry  Trescott  of 
South  Carolina,  to  proceed  to  China  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  new  treaties.  The  commissioners  were  for- 
tunate in  finding  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  willing  -f^ 
to  concede  to  the  United  States  the  control  and  regu- 
lation of  immigration,  and  on  the  i8th  of  November, 
1880,  it  was  agreed  that  whenever,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  the  interests 
ofjthe  country  were  endangered  by  the  corning  to_or 
residence  i_n  it  of  the  Chinese,  such  coming  rnight  Jbe 
suspended  for  a  time,  the  limijtation  to  apply  only  to^ 
laborers  and  not  to  other  classes.  The  Chinese  already 
in  the  country  were  accorded  all  the  rights,  privileges, 
immunities,  and  other  exemptions  accorded  to  citizens 


320  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  the  most  favored  nation.  This  treaty  was  ratified 
by  the  senate  on  May  5,  1881,  and  ratification  was 
exchanged  at  Peking  July  19th  of  the  same  year.  A 
supplemental  treaty  concerning  commerce  agreed  to 
prohibit  the  importation  of  opium  by  Chinese  subjects. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1882,  the  president  approved  an 
act  of  congress  susj2ending_Chinese  imrmgration  Tor 
ten  years  buj^ not  interfering  witlTtEe^Chinese  already 
in  the  country;  an3~as  a  r^ult^of  this  act  the  Chinese 
already  in_  California  raised  the  price  of  domestic 
service  immediately  thereafter.  In  1902  the  provisions 
of  law  suspending  the  immigration  of  Chinese  was 
extended  for  ten  years  more,  and  in  191 2  the  act 
was  extended  without  limitation. 

In  1876  the  books  of  the  six  Chinese  companies 
showed  a  total  of  151,300  coolies  belonging  to  them, 
but  it  is  probable  that  a  number  of  these  had  returned, 
as  the  statisticians  placed  the  number  of  Chinese  in 
California  at  that  time  at  116,000. 

(The  year  1877  opened  with  a  promise  of  hard  times. 
Little  rain  fell  during  the  winter  of  1876-7,  and  the 
damage  to  the  grain  crop  and  the  loss  of  cattle  on 
the  stock  ranges  amounted  to  millions  of  dollars.  In 
addition  there  was  a  great  falling  off  in  the  gold  pro- 
duction, while  in  the  stock  market  the  decline  in  values 
was  very  great.  Following  the  wild  gambling  opera- 
tions in  mining  shares  of  1875-6  came  a  great  slump; 
thousands  of  families  were  impoverished  and  saw  the 
savings  of  a  life  time  covered  into  the  coffers  of  men 
already  rich;  and  they  had  the  further  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  greater  part  of  the  money  they  had  lost 
carried  out  of  the  state.     So  universal  had  been  the 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  321 

stock  gambling  craze  that  many  enterprises  were 
obliged  to  close  for  want  of  funds,  throwing  people 
out  of  employment  and  increasing  the  general  distress. 

Another  grievance  of  the  working  man  was  that  the 
enormous  monopoly  of  land  by  a  few; jnen,  who  refused 
to  sell  at  a  fair  value,  hmdered  the  settlement  of 
the  country,  thereby  inflicting  the  double  injury  of 
preventing  the  poor  from  acquiring  cheap  homes  and 
checking  the  employment  of  farm  and  other  laborers. 

Labor  unions  began  to  be  formed  in  1867  and  in 
1868  the  legislature  passed  an  act  making  eight  hours 
a  legal  day's  work.  This  was  not  only  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  more  leisure  for  improvement,  physical  and 
mental,  of  the  working  men,  but  in  order  to  give 
employment  to  a  greater  number. 

By  1877  the  situation  in  regard  to  laboring  men  had    .^/^ 
become" "acute.     rH'San  Francisco  thousands  were  out 
of  employment  and  had  to  be  assisted  by  the  benevolent 
associations,  and  the  majority  of  them  attributed  their 
distress  to  the  cheap  Chinese  labor  employed  in  the 

manufactories.     They  had  endeavored  to  better  their 

condition  by  holding  meetings  and  petjtioning  the_ 
legisratufe~and  congress  for  relief  from  the  blight  of 
Chinese  competition.  They  had  failed,  and  m  addrtion^ 
they  were  told  by  their  friends  and  leaders  that  the 
men  to  whom  they  had  left  the  business  of  politics  and 
government  were  corrupt;  that  they  used  their  influence 
to  lobby  bills  through  the  legislature  granting  privileges 
to  corporations,  while  heavy  taxes  were  laid  upon  the 
public  to  be  wasted  by  a  reckless  and  extravagant 
administration. 


322  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

^  yOn  the  23d  of  July  a  mass  meeting  of  working  men 
was  held  in  San  Francisco  on  a  vacant  lot  on  the  Market 
street  side  of  the  new  city  hall,  then  uiider  construction. 
At  this  meeting  resolutions  were  adopted  denouncing 
the  grasping  policy  of  the  moneyed  and  governing 
classes;  declaring  against  subsidies  to  railroad  and 
steamship  lines;  against  the  use  of  military  force 
against  strikers;  asserting  that  the  reduction  of  wages 
was  a  part  of  the  conspiracy  for  the  destruction  of 
the  republic;  that  the  non-enforcement  of  the  eight- 
hour  law  had  over-crowded  the  labor  market;  demand- 
ing that  the  government  enforce  the  law,  and  that  all 
railroad  property  in  disaffected  districts  should  be 
condemned  to  public  usq,  allowing  the  owners  a  just 
compensation  therefor.*  J  While  the  meeting  was  in 
progress  an  anti-coolie  club  was  formed  on  the  outskirts 
thereof  which  proceeded  to  wreck  a  number  of  Chinese 
laundries.  In  anticipation  of  an  outbreak  and  in 
consequence  of  threats  made  by  the  rioters  to  burn 
the  Chinese  laundries  and  drive  out  the  Asiatics, /the 
.J^  citizens  had  formed  a  committee  of  safety  which,  led 
by  William  T.  Coleman,  came  to  the  aid  of  the  police 
and  in  the  struggle  several  persons  were  killed.  Cole- 
man, a  prominent  merchant  of  San  Francisco  who  had 
been  president  of  the  vigilajnce  committee  of  1856, 
acted  with  great  promptnesis  and  organized  a  force  of 
about  fifteen  hundred  men  and  applied  to  the  war 
department  for  arms  which  were  furnished,  but  later 
he  armed  his  force  with  hickory  pick  handles — his 
object  being  not  to  kill  or  maim,  but  to  disperse  the 
rioters  and  drive  them  off — and  he  returned  the  arms 


•Bancroft,  History  of  California,  Vol.  VII,  p.  353. 


^^ii)^^:-.**'''^^ 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
The  Cliffs 
This  rugged  outlook  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  31  minutes 
by  street  car  from  Kearny  street. 


llOiUi^i     u 


L\..'ill\ 


ass  meetin 

■n  a  va( 

,,11    ,u 


Viarket 


the  gra: 
(lasses; 


noney< 
bsidies 


governing 

-;e    oi    luiiiiary    lorce 

n-^^ notion  of  wages 

ieBtruction  of 

iforcement  of  the  eight- 

rket;  demand- 

,  and  that  all 

ts   should   be 

'" ''"'ITsi^ng  the  owners  a  just 

ile  the  meeting  was   ^  ? 

[11  dooljuo  bp:3s>'n  eiflT  ,  •• 


and    in 

o  burn 

iatics,/the 
which,"-' 

the  DC 

killed. 

ho  had 

1856, 

krcr   /'if 

tment 

rnished,  but  later 

med  hib  ioi' 

hicku 

■    handles-  ■ 

.    X...: .   ,, 

'  main 

)  disperse 

-and 

ned  the  a 

Califomic 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  323 

and  ammunition  to  the  military  authorities  He 
formed  his  men  into  companies  of  one  hundred,  under 
officers  of  their  own  choosing,  and  drilled  them  in  the 
use  of  their  weapons  and  sent  them  out  in  detachments 
for  active  service  as  assistants  to  the  police  and  under 
the  direct  orders  of  the  chief.  This^  wa-S_known  as  the 
pick-handle  brigade  and  between  five  and  six  thou- 
sand citizens  were  enrolled  for  service.  At  the  request 
of  Governor  Irwin  the  secretary  of  the  navy  ordered 
the  United  States  vessels  Pensacola  and  Lackawanna, 
and  tug  Monterey  down  from  Mare  Island  and  they 
were  anchored  oif  the  city  wharves.  Alarm  was  also 
felt  in  Oakland  in  consequence  of  a  meeting  of  12,000 
working__men  who  indnlgpd  jn  threats  _against  the 
property  nf  the  railroad  company  in  that  citv,  unless 
the  Chinese  in  their  employ  should  be  discharged. 

On  the  night  ofT^ry  25th  allemoiistratfon  was  made 
against  the  docks  and  steamers  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
company  at  the  foot  of  Brannan  street  where  the 
Chinese  immigrants  were  landed  and  which  were 
therefore  regarded  as  proper  subjects  of  spoil.  A  great 
crowd  congregated  in  the  neighborhood  and  several 
lumber  yards  in  the  vicinity  were  set  on  fire.  The 
disorderly  element  was  out  in  large  force,  as  is  usual 
on  such  occasions,  and  attempted  to  interfere  with  the 
firemen  who  were  early  on  the  ground  with  their 
engines.  The  police  assisted  by  the  pick-handle  brigade 
charged  the  rioters  and  in  the  general  melee  a  number 
of  shots  were  fired  and  many  stones  thrown.  A  few 
men  were  killed  and  several  wounded  but  the  rioters 
were  finally  dispersed.  This  ended  the  riotous  agita- 
tion and  a_  few  days  later  the  committee  of  safety 


^1 


324  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

disappeared  from  public  view,  the  war  ships  were 
returned  to  Mafe'lsland,  and  the  secretary  of  the 
navy  and  the  secretary  of  war  received  the  thanks  of 
Governor  Irwin  for  their  assistance  in  restoring  order. 
/The  communistic  element  of  the  working  men's 
association  was  repudiated  by  the  more  intelligent 
and  conservative  of  the  laborers,  many  of  whom 
joined  the  committee.  The  riotous  movement  failed 
for  lack  of  a  leader  and  a  definite  purpose.  Such  a 
leader  now  appeared  who  seemed  to  have  both  capacity 
for  leadership,  a  definite  purpose  and,  for  a  time, 
wonderful  success  in  swaying  the  multitude.  Dems_ 
Kearney  was  an  Irish  drayman,  born  in  County  Cork, 
in  1847.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  went  to  sea  as  a  cabin 
boy,  sailing  principally  under  the  American  flag  and 
gaining  rapid  promotion,  so  that  when  he  arrived  at 
San  Francisco  in  1868,  he  was  first  officer  of  the  clipper 
ship  Shooting  Star;  a  position  he  continued  to  occupy 
on  coasting  steamers  for  four  years.  It  was  here  he 
acquired  the  air  of  dominating  command  which  was  to 
stand  him  in  good  stead  in  later  years.  He  was  tem- 
perate and  industrious,  saving  enough  to  purchase  a 
draying  business  in  1872  which  prospered  until  1877, 
when  the  merchants  withdrew  their  patronage  in 
consequence  of  his  incendiary  speeches.  He  was  not 
devoid  of  means,  while  drawing  support  from  his  fol- 
lowers in  collections  taken  up  at  the  Sunday  meetings 
on  the  sand-lot.  He  was  not  naturalized  until  1876. 
He  had  little  education  but  had  picked  up  considerable 
information  from  newspapers  and  political  pamphlets. 
His  voice  was  loud  and-penetraling_aiid-_his  harangues 
were  violent,  denunciatory,  and  abounded  in  abusive 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  325 

epkhctsv-somg-ofjadiich  were  picturesque^  if  not  eltf.gantj 
and  caught  the  popular  fanc^:j.,.,a^.-wJieiiJi£.aCQk£,Qlthe 
n)£inbers--©f--the-4egiskituxe_.aa_th£,  "Honorable  Bilks,'' 
the  term  was  at^  once  adopted  by  his  followers,  j  His 
slogan  was  "The  Chinese  must_gp. "  He  spoke  with  a 
pronounced  brogue  and  with  shallowness  of  argument. 
His  ideii§_of_polki£aI-£CQnomy -were  C4^ude  and  illogical 

and  hisconceit  was  as  great  as  his..aiiiJbltLQn. By  his 

admirers  he  was  compared  to  the  first  Napoleon,  and 
"to   Caesar.   J[n_jpersonal    appearanace   he   was   below_ 
medium  height,  compactly  built,  with  a  broad  head, 
slight    mustache,    restless    blue    eyes,    and    nervous 
temperament. 

/On  the  1 8th  of  August,  at  a  meeting  of  working  men, 
Kearney  took  preliminary  steps  to  organize  a  party, 
which,  four  days  later  was  formed  under  the  name  of 
the  Woikingmen's  Trade  and  Labor  union.  J.  G.  Day 
was  chosen  president  and  Kearney  secretary.  In  the 
meantime  other  trades  unions  in  different  parts  of  the 
state  were  acting  in  sympathy  with  those  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  at  Sacramento  they  advocated  the  abolish- 
ment of  all  national  banks  and  the  withdrawal  of  the 
presenJL-^ank  currency  in  favor  of_fulL_legal  t^^^ers^ 
issued  only  by  the  United  States ;  the  unconditional 
abrogation  of  the  Burlingame  treaty;  and  the  fees  of^ 
office-holders _tQjb ej;gduced..tQ.  the-pnces-paidJEor  s k i  1 1  ed 
laboij. 

/On  the  1 2th  of  September  at  a  meeting  of  the  Work- 
ihgmen's  Trade  and  Labor  union  it  was  resolved  to 
sever  all  connection  with  existing  political  parties7and^~ 
organize  under  .thfiuiamfi-jaf-the  Workingmen's  partyjof_ 

California    with   thf  following  nhjprts :      The  abolition 


p? 


326  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  assessments  on  candidates  for  office;  holding  state 
and  municipal  officers  to  strict  accountability  for  their 
official  acts;  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  labor  and 
statistics;  reduction  and  regulation  of  hours  of  labor; 
and  the  creation  by  the  legislature  of  a  convention  of 
labor,  with  headquarters  in  San  Francisco. ) 

On  September  21st  a  public  meeting  was  held  at 
Union  hall  on  Howard  street,  San  Francisco,  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  condition  of  the  unemployed 
and  providing  means  for  their  relief.  State  senator 
ff*hilip  A.  Roach  addressed  the  meeting  upon  the 
Chinese  trouble  and  political  corruption  and  called 
for  united  action  to  obtain  legislation  for  the  poor. 
Kearney  also  spoke  and  said  he  wanted  to  see  a  musket 
in  the  hands  of  every  working  man  and  predicted  that 
within  a  year  there  would  be  twenty  thousand  laborers 
in  San  Francisco  well  armed,  well  organized,  and  well 
7  able  to  demand  and  take  what  they  wished,  despite 
the  police,Kthe  military,  and  the  "hoodlum  committee 
of  safety.")  He  threatened  the  Chinese  with  summary 
treatment;  inveighed  against  the  capitalists  of  the 
state — giving  the  names  of  many — and  intimated  that 
a  little  judicious  hanging  would  be  salutary  and  that  a 
few  fires  would  clear  the  atmosphere.  He  said  he  knew 
his  speech  was  incendiary  and  it  was  intended  to  be  so. 
This  kind  of  talk  suited  the  riotous  and  ai:Kirchistic 
elements  and  Kearney  rose  high  in  their  favor.) 

The  San  Francisco  branch  of  the  Workmgmen's 
party  met  every  Sunday  afternoon  on  the  vacant  lot 
OB  Market  street  in  front  of  the  new  city  hall,  where  the 
initial  meeting  of  July  23d  was  held,  and  from  this 


THE  GOLDEN  GATE 

"San  Francisco 

Serene,  indifferent  of  fate, 

TIiou  sittest  by  the  Western  Gate; 

Upon  thy  heights  so  lately  won. 
Still  slant  the  banners  of  the  sun; 

Thou  seest  the  white  seas  strike  their  tents, 
O  warder  of  two  continents, 

And  scornful  of  the  peace  that  flies, 
Thy  angry  winds  and  sullen  skies, 

Thou  drawest  all  things,  small  or  great. 
To  thee  beside  the  Western  Gate." 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

v)i  '     ""    Udates  for  r'^         ^'^Ing  state 

an  strict  acc'  ^  for  their 

ofRrial  ac  iment  of  a  bureau  of  labor  and 

gulation  of  hours  of  labor; 
ana  i  '  ture  of  a  convention  of 

lab'^r  ^ .^ri  Francisco.") 

'  iblic  meeting  was  held  at 

I  on  I  San  Francisc'  ;e 

'  'tion  of  the  unemployed 

ir  relief.     State  senator 

^i    fhr-'    rr  acting   upon    th,^ 

>le,^M  tion  and  called 

the  poor. 

a  musket 

^^^y  ...  .  ,v..c.cted  that. 

I *v/ahousand  laborers 

^"ci;^,Mii,B^;tf^^juf,^iB;i}^anized,  and  well 

,'i4abi4Pi9dii^^^fe?e«barihxien»h#^''  wished,  despite 

■'     '    -n  committv 
..ith  summa' 
riitalists   of   t 
rimated  the  v 
i  iitii  nd  that   ■ 

few  fires  would  Ci  said  he  kn<: 

V !    .^  -^^jj  ^y^g  inceii  .  was  iniended  to  be  s  ■. 

,..   .and  of  talk  su  .....    .....   riotous  and  aQarc^''^    ^ 

elements  and  Kearney  ro?e  hi.crh  in  their  favor.) 
The  >ancist  orkmgmei 

ery  Sunday  afternoon  o 

in  from  new  city  hail,  where  the 

is  held         '   ' 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  327 

came  the  name  by  which  it  was  known:  the  "Sand-lot 
party."  The  meetings  were  largely  attended  and  the 
spacers  were  enthusiastically  applauded. 

(a  few  days  after  the  Union  hall  meeting,  Kearney 
addressed  a  meeting  on  the  sand-lot.  He  declared 
that  San  Francisco  would  meet  the  fate  of  Moscow  if 
the  condition  of  the  laboring  classes  was  not  soon 
improved,  and  that  bullets  were  not  wanting  to  enforce 
theinilfiliiands.  At  this  intemperate  language  he  was  /<ifJ^ 
called  to  order  by  Day,  the  president,  but  the  crowd 
applauded  Kearney  and  urged  him  on.  On  the  5th 
of  October,  1877,  a  permanent  organization  of  the 
Workingmen's  party  was  effected  with  Denis  Kearney 
as  president,  John  G.  Day  vice-president,  and  H.  L. 
Knight  secretary.  The  principles  of  the  association 
were  declared  to  be:  "To  unite  all  poor  and  working 
men  and  their  friends  into  one  political  party  for  the 
purpose  of  defending  themselves  against  the  dangerous 
encroachments  of  capital  on  the  happiness  of  our  people 
and  the  liberties  of  our  country;  to  wrest  the  govern- 
ment from  the  hands  of  the  rich  and  place  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  people  where  it  properly  belongs;  to  rid 
the  country  of  cheap  Chinese  labor  as  soon  as  possible 
by  all  means  in  our  power,  because  it  tends  still  more  to 
degrade  labor  and  aggrandize  capital;  to  destroy  land 
monopoly  in  our  state  by  such  laws  as  will  make  it 
impossible;  to  destroy  the  great  money  power  of  the 
rich  by  a  system  of  taxation  that  will  make  great  wealth 
impossible  in  the  future;  to  provide  decently  for  the 
poor  and  unfortunate,  the  weak,  the  helpless,  and 
especially  the  young,  because  the  country  is  rich  enough 
to    do    so,    and    religion,    humanity,    and    patriotism 


328  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

demand  that  we  should  do  so;  to  elect  none  but  com- 

-^        petent  working  men  and  their  friends  to  any  office 

')yr^        whatever.     The  rich  have  ruled  us  until  they  have 

/O     ruined  us.     We  will  now  take  our  own  affairs  into  our 

/ys<4^  own  hands.     The  republic  must  and  shall  be  preserved^ , 

^\J      and  onlv^working  men  will  dojit.     Our  shoddy  aristo- 

A       crats  want  an  emperor  and  a  standing  army  to  shoot 

/  down  the  people.  "^  The  party  proposed,  as  soon  as 

it  got  strong  enough,  to  wait  upon  all  who  employed 

Chinese,  ask  for  their  discharge,  and  mark  as  public 

enemies  those  who  refused  to  comply  with  their  request. 

It  further  declared  that  it  would  exhaust  all  peaceable 

means  of  attaining  its  ends  but  it  would  not  be  denied 

justice  while  it  had  the  power  to  enforce  its  demands. 

It  would  encourage  no  riot  or  outrage,  but  it  would  not 

volunteer  to  repress,  put  down,  arrest  or  prosecute  the 

hungry  and  impatient  who  manifest  their  hatred  of 

the  Chinaman  by  a  crusade  against  "John"  or  those 

who  employ  him.     "Let  those  who  raise  the  storm  by 

their  selfishness  suppress  it  themselves.     If  they  dare 

/        raise  the  devil,  let  them  meet  him  face  to  face.     We  will 

J/        not  help  them." 

(Xhh  platform  found  ready  acceptance  from  those  who 
envied  the  wealthy  class;  who  hated  the  Chinaman, 
who  longed  for  the  place  and  the  perquisites  of  the 
politician  and  thought  they  saw  herein  means  of 
coming  to  such  a  consummation-of-^beir  desires .  Clubs_ 
were  farmed- iiLevfiry^ward  and  Kearney-  spoke  every 
night  at  one  or  more  of  them.  He  became  more  and 
more  violentln  his  denunciation  and  vituperation.  He 
brooked  no  opposition  and  when  at  one  time  a  rival 
meeting  was  attempted  on  the  same  sand-lot,  he  paused 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  329 

in  his  harangue  against  the  Chinese  and  pointing  to  the 
mutineers,  said:  "You  will  have  to  mob  those  white  /v.o_a. 
Sioux  and  white  pigtail-men  first.  You  will  have  to  J3^ 
shoot  them  down  on  the  streets  before  you  begin  on 
the  Chinese."*  )  He  inveighed  against  congress  and  the 
legislature;  they  were,  he  said,  manipulated  by  thieves, 
peculators,  land-grabbers,  bloated  bond-holders,  rail- 
road magnates,  and  shoddy  aristocrats.  He  said  that 
when  the  working  men  decided  that  the  Chinese  must 
go,  and  when  their  will  was  thwarted  by  bribery,  cor- 
ruption, and  fraud,  it  was  time  for  them  to  meet  bribery, 
corruption,  and  fraud  with  force.  '(The  reign  of  bloated 
knaves  is  over,"  he  said  on  another  occasion,  "the 
people  are  about  to  take  their  own  affairs  into  their 
own  hands;  and  they  will  not  be  stopped  either  by 
vigilantes,  state  militia,  or  United  States  troops,  j  On 
October  29th  a  tumultous  body  of  about  three  thousand 
proceeded  to  the  summit  of  the  hill  at  California  and 
Mason  streets  where  the  railroad  magnates,  Stanford,  -^ 
Hopkins,  and  Crocker  had  erected  costly  residences, 
and  where  Kearney  harangued  them  denouncing  the 
railroad  men,  calling  them  thieves,  and  said  that  when 
he  had  thoroughly  organized  his  party  they  would 
march  through  the  city  and  compel  the  thieves  to  give 
up  their  plunder;  that  he  would  lead  them  to  the  city 
hall,  clear  out  the  police  force,  hang  the  prosecuting 
attorney,  burn  every  book,  and  then  enact  new 
laws  for  the  working  men;  that  he  would  give  the 
Central  Pacific  just  three  months  to  discharge  their 
Chinamen,  and  if  it  were  not  done,  Stanford  and  his 
crowd  would  have  to  take  the  consequences.     At  a 

*Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IF,  p.  602. 


330  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

(meeting  at  Irish-American  hall  he  said  he  wanted  to 
make  a  motion  that  men  who  claimed  to  be  leaders 
in  the  working  men's  movement  and  flagged  in  their 
interest,  should  be  hung  up  to  a  lamp  post.  \  'jTWe 
will  take  them  by  the  throat,"  he  said,  "and  clroke 
them  until  their  life's  blood  ceases  to  beat  and  run  them 
into  the  sea.  A  fine  young  man  asked  me,  'What  posi- 
tion are  you  going  to  give  me.^"  His  name  is  Lynch. 
I  said,  'I  will  make  you  chief  judge.'  j  His  name  is 
Lynch,  recollect — Judge  Lynch;  and  that  is  the  judge 
the  working  men  will  want  in  California,  if  the  condition 
of  things  is  not  ameliorated.  Cl  advise  every  one  within 
the  sound  of  my  voice,  if  he  is  able,  to  own  a  musket 
and  a  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition. "r  /The  Chinese 
residents  became  fearful  of  violence  and  the  six  com- 
panies sent  a  petition  to  the  mayor  appealing  for  pro- 
tection, and  such  was  the  alarm  among  all  classes  of 
citizens  caused  by  these  incendiary  speeches  and  threats 
that  in  November,  1877,  Kearney  was  arrested  and  con- 
fined in  jail,  a  martyrdoni  which  hethought  would  make^ 
him  famous,  ^ome  of  his  lieutelfrants~were"aIsoarrested 
and  all  were  charged  with  inciting  riot.  A  defect  in 
the  law,  however,  caused  them  to  be  discharged,  but 
they  were  immediately  arrested  and  charged  with  riot 
under  the  penal  code;  but  the  court  before  whom  they 
were  brought  decided  that  their  conduct  did  not  con- 
stitute a  technical  riot  and  they  were  again  discharged^ 
They  were  received  by  th^ir  followers  with  enthusiasm 
and  hailed  as  heroes.  [A  great  demonstration  was 
planned  in  Kearney's  honor  and  on  Thanksgiving  day, 
November  29,  1877,  seven  thousand  men  marched  in 

*Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IV,  p.  603-604. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  331 

procession  through  the  city  with  banners  flying  and 
sand-lot  mottoes  displayed.  (It  ended  at  the  sand-lot 
where  after  some  speeches  ana  the  adoption  of  a  reso- 
lution to  wind  up  the  national  banks  the  assembly 

disperseO^   fWJTJJ^Jj]  jail  the  agitatnr<;  b^j_Rpnt^^v;^Tri- 

munication  to  the  mayor  saying  th^at  they  had  beenjnjs- 
represented  by  the  press ;  that  thev  had  no  design  against 
the  peace  of  jthe..cjly,_jjid.  were, wU^ 
wise  measure  to  allay  existing  exciterneirL_  They  said 
'•'whey  did  not  propose  to  hold  any  more  out-door  meet- 
ings or  to  tolerate  any  further  use  of^incendiary  language.  / 
This  letter  was  signed  by  Kearney  and  others  and  the 
mayor  was  authorized  to  make  such  use  of  it  as  he  might 
deem  conducive  to  public  safety.  No  sooner  were  they 
at  liberty,  however,  than  Kearney  recommenced  his 
outrageous  attacks  upon  the  police,  the  judges  and  the 
supervisors.  Kearney's  success  caused  him  to  feel  that 
he  could  do  anything  with  his  followers.  At  a  meeting 
in  December,  1877,  he  promised:  "If  I  don't  get  killed, 
I  will  do  more  than  any  reformer  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  I  hope  I  will  be  assassinated,  for  the  success 
of  the  movement  depends  on  that";  and  he  launched 
forth  against  the  "thieving  millionaires  and  scoundrelly 
officials";  talked  of  lynching  the  railroad  magnates  and 
destroying  their  property;  blowing  up  and  burning  the 
Pacific  Mail  docks  and  steamers;  of  dropping  dynamite 
bombs  from  balloons  into  Chinatown  and  of  using  infer- 
nal machines  to  clean  out  the  "bloated  bond-holders." 
He  predicted  a  glorious  future  for  their  movement,  and 
he  hoped  that  a  later  generation  might  find  a  slab  with 


332  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  inscription:  "Here  lies  Kearney  the  Drayman  who 
led  the  victorious  charge  against  the  hordes  of  tyranny 
and  died  for  liberty  and  the  rights  of  men.') 

In  company  with  the  secretary  of  the  Workingmen's 
party  Kearney  now^set^out  to  form  cUibs-^th^c^j^hettt 
the  state  and  addressed  audiences  in  man^__places. 
Among_t^^arming  clasTTieliadllttle  success  but  in 
the  large  towns  he  was  eagerly  listened  tO^and  his  talk 
throughout  was  the  usual  one  of  denunciation,  abuse~of 
the  wealthy  classes,  of  the  administration  of  the  goverij- 
ment,  and  boasts  of  what  he,  as  dictator,  proposed  to 
d»s-  On  January  3,  1878,  Kearney  headed  a  procession 
in  San  Francisco  and  marched  to  the  city  hall  to  demand 
of  the  mayor  "work,  bread,  or  a  place  in  the  county 
jail."  By  the  timentlieynfeac!ied"the  city  hall  the 
procession  numbered  fifteen  hundred  and  caused  no 
little  alarm  among  the  officials.  Kearney  told  the 
mayor  that  he  could  not  keep  his  followers  in  check 
any  longer  and  would  not  be  responsible  for  what  might 
happen  if  they  were  not  provided  for.  He  demanded 
that  the  capitalists  of  the  city  should  establish  an  indus- 
trial colony  or  take  other  means  for  relief.  This  was, 
of  course,  out  of  the  mayor's  power  to  do.  HThey  then 
crossed  over  to  the  sand-lot  where  the  usual  speeches 
were  indulged  in  and  the  working  men  were  advised  to 
bring  guns  and  bludgeons  to  the  sand-lot.  Military 
companies  were  formed  among  them  but  only  those 
of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  wards  were  able  to  procure 
arms.  The  authorities  again  arrested  the  incendiaries; 
the  national  guard  was  called  out  and  a  man-of-war 
sent  to  protect  the  mail  docks.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  lay  before  the  legislature  the  condition  of 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
The  Embarcadero 
At  the  foot  of  Market  street.     Nine-tenths  of  the  travelers 
by  rail  to  San  Francisco  land  here. 


■  ^,-x,»^,'/mjir^v.  ^*^S'»*»«SRdln^*«l» . 


aat  migh' 


only 


ore  the 


ciidiaries , 
"  of -war 

cond'r 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  333 

affairs,  and  an  act  was  Eassed  aylhjQj:izing__ 
of  incendiaiX--SP'^^£J^-  aild_jthe  dispersm  doubtful 

assemblages,.  Released  on  bail,  Kearney  denounced  the 
action  of  the  legislature  and  said:  "If  the  members 
of  the  legislature  overstep  the  limits  of  decency,  then  I 
say,  hempIJif mp !  hemp,l_ JhAt,is,,the_battle  ..cry._of 
freedom."  He  also  defied  the  grand  jury  and  said  that 
if  imprisoned  again  he  would  work  out  of  jail  and  "an- 
nihilate every  one  of  these  hell-hounds  in  the  state  of 
California. '\  WilHam  J/^JIociL,  an  Englishman,  shoe-  "^ 
maker  by  trade,  was  an  evangelist  and  Bible  expounder, 
and  owing  to  his  ready  talk  and  violent  denunciatory 
speeches  had  been  made  vice-president  of  the  party. 
He  was  fond  of  discoursing  upon  Bible  texts  at  the  sand- 
lot  and  was,  in  consequence,  known  by  the  name  of 
Parson  Wellock.  /  The  wickedness  of  _the_monopolists 
was  a  favorite  theme  with  him.  They  were,  he  declared, 
per vertel^o^the Tr^^  In  the/^^ 

Bible  the  Lord  was  said  to  be  a  consuming  fire.    |"When(3^ 
he  commands,  we  must  obey.     What  are  we  to  do  with^^ 
these  people  that  are  starving  our  poor  and  degrading^^^ 
our   wives,    daughters,    and    sisters.^     And    the    Lord 
said  unto  Moses,  'Take  all  the  heads  off  the  people  and 
hang  them  before  the  Lord. '  [  This  is  what  we  are 
commanded  by  a  supreme  being  to  do  with  all  that  dare 
to  tread  down  honesty,  virtue,  and  truth."! 

On  January  22,  1878,  one  of  the  indictments  against 
Kearney  and  Wellock  was  tried  before  a  jury  in  the 
city  criminal  court,  but  under  the  rulings  of  the  judge 
on  the  subject  of  riot,  they  were  acquitted,  and  at  once 
resumed  their  campaign  of  abuse  and  denunciation 
with   an   arrogance   unsurpassed,   filling   the   peaceful 


334  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

citizens  with  terror.     The  military  companies  for^ned 

hy   Kearney   aRSfrpMed   for  -djdlLQ4^--4ixe_sar|(]-1n1v^^^ 

Kearne}j[_was  electedLlietU:enaiit=geaexal,  with  Knight 
as  adjutant,  and  three  staff  officers;  a  uniform  was 
adopted  consisting  of  blue  shirt,  black  trousers,  and 
fatigue  cap.  (One  speaker  suggested  that  were  a  few 
guns  turned  on  the  city  millions  might  be  extorted 
wherewith  to  form  a  fund  for  the  common  benefit. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  the  people  were  greatly  alarmed 
at  these  demonstrations  against  established  order  and 
property  rights.  In  a  city  composed  largely  of  wooden 
buildings,  as  San  Francisco  then  was,  a  number  of  fires 
started  on  a  windy  afternoon  would  prove  a  serious 
matter;  yet  the  danger  was  more  apparent  than  real 
and  while  the  talk  was  threatening,  the  agitators  usually 
refrained  from  actual  jviolence.  .The_  police  were 
vigilant  and  active^and  we  do  not  doubt  that  with  the 
assTstjnre  of  ColemaiTs^ck-hanclle  brigade"  theywould 
have  bgfn  ^q^^a^  tr>  tVif>  rlpff^t  pf  any  rintnns  attempt  At 
mischief.  The  sensational  pxesSj_toaj_had  its  influence 
ajQ,d_reported  Kearney's  speeches  and  sometimes^on- 
trived  to  make  his  harangues_eyen  more  violent  than 
they  were.  In  a  letter_t.Q_Tames  Bryce,  Keajiiey  accused 
the  .newspapers,  of  jniarepLesent^^ 

A  convention  of  the  Workingmen's  party  was  held 
on  January  226.  and  on  the  same  day  came  news  of 
the  t^i^TTnpVi  nf  thf  Workingmen  at  an  election  to  fill 
a  Yacancy_in...Al^mj2da_i^unty^jffi^h£ie^.they^s  a 

senator^iian  electi_o)^^ 

,2iZ30-5at-QL4ai49-Yotes^^st.     John  W.  Bones,  the  first 
fruit  of  the  new  party,  had   neither  education,   expe- 

•Bryce,  The  American  Commonwealth.     Second  Edition.     1891. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  335 

rience,  nor  training  to  fit  him  for  the  position,  but  was 
eccentric  and  so  very  tall  and  lean  that  he  was  some- 
times called  "Praise-God  Barebones."  Kearney  pro- 
ceeded to  Alameda  and  brought  the  senator  to  San 
Foncisco  to  exhibit  him  at  the  convention. 
(The  convention  provided  a  state  central  committee 
with  members  from  each  senatorial  district  and  one 
representative  from  each  trade  union.  The  usual 
provisions  for  abolishing  Chinese  cheap  labor  were 
adopted;  no  one  was  to  be  permitted  to  hold  more 
than  one  square  mile  of  land;  land  to  be  subject  to 
taxation  in  accordance  with  its  value  and  productive 
nature;  import  duties  on  raw  materials  not  produced 
in  the  United  States  to  be  abolished;  a  system  of 
finance  uncontrolled  by  rings,  brokers,  and  bankers  to 
be  adopted;  malfeasance  in  office  to  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  for  life  and  not  to  be  pardoned,  while  the 
pardoning  power  of  the  president  and  governors  of 
states  was  to  be  taken  from  them  and  vested  in  com- 
missions. Many  other  provisions — most  of  which  we 
could  all  subscribe  to — were  adopted;  the  Working- 
men's  party  was  ready  to  become  a  factor  in  the  politics 
of  the  state,  and  the  people  began  to  wake  up  to  a 
realizing  sense  of  the  fact  that  a  new  element  had 
entered  the  arena  and  was  to  be  reckoned  witly. 

(Much  impressed  by  the  belief  in  his  own  power 
Kearney  became  arrogant  and  aggressive.  An  attempt 
by  the  legislature  to  pass  a  bill  authorizing  the  city  of 
San  Francisco  to  purchase,  for  $15,000,000,  the  Spring 
Valley  water-works,  created  a  great  outcry  in  the 
city  and  a  meeting  of  property-owners  was  called  for 
March  16,  1878,  to  protest  against  it.     At  this  meeting 


336  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Kearney  appeared  with  a  large  following  and  proceeded 
to  take  a  place  on  the  platform.  When  reminded  that 
he  had  not  been  invited  he  insisted  on  his  right,  as  a 
representative  of  the  working  men,  to  share  in  its 
deliberations,  and  calling  on  his  adherents  for  a  show 
of  hands,  he  declared  himself  elected  chairman,  and 
carried  matters  with  a  high  hand,  entirely  routing  the 
property-owners.  A  set  of  resolutions  was  then  passed, 
instructing  the  city  representatives  in  the  legislature  to 
vote  against  the  bill,  a  deputation  being  dispatched 
to  Sacramento  to  present  them  to  the  governor  and 
legislature. *y 

But  in  the  midst  of  his  progress  Denis  Kearney  fell 
and  the  place  that  had  known  him  knew  him  no  more. 
/Whether  the  peril  that  lurks  in  the  path  of  the  political 
reformer  met  him  and  he  went  down  before  it,  or 
whether  he  was  deposed  by  his  riotous  followers,  we 
cannot  say.  It  was  reported  at  the  time  and  pretty 
generally  believed  that  he  had  been  bought  off  by  the 
railroad  people  and  the  amount  of  his  purchase  various- 
ly stated  from  a  new  dray  and  team  to  a  large  sum  of 
money.  "We  had  to  have  him,"  said  one  supposed  to  be 
in  the  councils  of  the  railroad,  "He  was  too  strong  and 
too  dangerous  a  man  for  us  to  permit  him  to  go  on." 
How  much  it  cost  to  "get"  Denis  Kearney,  if  indeed  he 
was  "got,"  is  not  in  evidence.  We  are  inclined  to  believe 
from  all  we  can  learn  in  an  investigation  thirty-four  years 
later,  thatjhis  followers_simplyJbecame  tired  of  him  and 
threw^iim^  out;  his  harangues  no  longer  entertained 
them  and  his  agitation  failed  to  produce  adequate 
results;  and  when  he  was  accused  of  using  his  position 

*Bancroft,  History  of  California,  Vol.  VII,  p.  362. 


SAX  FRANCISCO 

Market  Street 
Looking  east  from  Pouell  street 


he  had  no:  -cht,  as 


hand 


proper  then  p; 

the  gove 


■a.  Vol. ; 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  337 

to  promote  selfish  ends  they  removed  him  from  h . 
He  says  himself,  in  a  letter  to  James  Bryce,  written  in 
1890.  "I  was  poor,  with  a  helpless  family,  and  I  went 
to  work  to  provide  for  their  comfort."*  There  is 
nothing  in  his  appearance  or  manner  of  life  thereafter 
thaX  would  discredit  this  statement. 

/The  sand-lot  movement  rose  with  surprising  swift- 
ness, due  to  the  peculiar  conditions  existing  in  Cali- 
fornia, two  features  of  which  were  the  tremendous 
influx  of  Chinese  and  the  arrogant  attitude  of  the  newly 
made  railroad  milironaires.  ~Tt  Tell  as  quickly  as  it 
rose  and  wh'enTt"was'over~and  the  people  realized  how 
poor  a  thing  their  bogy  was  they  were  a  little  ashamed 
of  their  fright  and  began  to  make  light  of  it.  "Who's 
afraid  ?"  said  they.  "We  knew  there  was  nothing  to  him 
and  we  let  him  talk  himself  out."t  But  the  peril  was 
a  real  one  and  the  fright  genuine.  Many  a  timid 
householder  went  to  bed  at  night  fearing  that  his  city 
would  be  in  flames  before  morning.  To  be  sure  there 
were  the  police,  and  the  militia,  and  the  pick-handle 
brigade,  whose  leader  was  a  man  of  courage  and 
determination;  but  if  trouble  came  there  would  be  some 
strenuous  work  before  order  could  be  restored.  ^Had 
Kearney  been  competent  to  plan  a  policy,  and  had  he 
the  physrcaTTdurage~to  u^e  the  iorce  that  came  to  his 
hands^  the  story  might  have  been  different.  But  he 
had  neither;  he  spent  himself  in  denunciation  and 
vituperation  and  he  went  down 

"To  the  vile  dust  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung." 


*Bryce,  The  American  Commonwealth.     Second  Edition.     Vol.  Il,ip.  7  and  p. 
fBryce,  The  American  Commonzvealth,  Vol.  II,  p.  402. 


338  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

mith  the  disappearance  of  Denis  Kearney  the  violent 
hostility  to  the  Chinese  subsided  and  with  the  modifi- 
cation of  the  Burlingame  treaty  by  Angel,  Swift,  and 
Trescott  in  1881,  it  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  ceased. 
The  influence  of  the  sand-lot  movement  was,  however, 
far  reaching.  It  was  largely  instf"^^"^^!  ^'lL_l!lf 
modification  of  the  treaty  and  the  acts  of  congress 
thereunder.  It  caused  tlie-calling  of  a  constitutional 
convention  and  in  the  articles  of  the  instrument  that 
convention  framed,-it&Jnfluence  may  be  plainly  seen. 
The  Workingmen's  party  organized  and  nourished  by 
Kearney  did  not  impress  itself  on  the  political  entity 
of  the  state  for  a  great  while.  It  figured  in  the  legisla- 
ture, in  the  composition  of  the  courts,  and  it  gave  a 
mayor  to  San  Francisco;  but  it  soon  ceased  to  be 
a  political  facto^  and  its  members  returned  to  their 
former  affiliations. \ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION 

I 878-1 879 


i 


THE  feeling  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  with 
existing  conditions  found  expression  in  1877-8 
in  a  demand  for  a  new  constitution.  It  was 
claimed  that  under  the  constitution  formed 
in  1849,  a  very  good  constitution  for  its  time,  too  much 
had  been  left  to  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature — par- 
ticularly in  regard  to  taxes  and  finance;  that  the  legis- 
lature could  borrow  from  one  fund  to  squander  upon 
another,  and  heedless  of  the  burden  upon  the  people 
it  could  impose  any  tax  it  might  see  fit  to  waste  in  large 
salaries  and  extravagant  expenditures;  it  could  and  did 
dispose  of  the  public  domain  without  obtaining  the 
consent  of  the  people,  and  in  these  and  in  many  other 
particulars  the  constitution  was  unsuited  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  state  and  the  character  of  its  population. 
The  reaction  from  the  flush  times  of  the  gold  placers, 
the  collapse  of  mining  exchange  speculations,  the  large 
amount  of  unemployed  men,  the  oppressive  exactions 
of  the  railroad,  with  the  greatly  increasing  Chinese 
immigration,  gave  the  working  men  the  argument  for 
a  change  in  the  organic  law  and  in  this  demand  they 
were  joined  by  the  agricultural  class  who  sought  to  be 
relieved  from  burdensome  taxation.  The  value  of  min- 
ing stocks  which  in  1875  had  aggregated  ^300,000,000, 
had  in  1877  fallen  to  less  than  ^150,000,000,  reducing 
to  poverty  and  want  thousands  of  working  men;  the 
mines  and  farms  of  the  state  had  yielded  in  five  years 
past  $750,000,000,  but  the  great  bulk  of  it  had  gone  to 
enrich  less  than  twenty  per  cent  of  the  population,  a 
few  of  whom  had  amassed  colossal  fortunes  while  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  were  left  to  struggle  for  exist- 
ence as  best  they  might.     The  discontent  of  the  farmers 


342  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

was  hardly  less  than  that  of  the  city  laborers.  They, 
too,  had  lost  heavily  in  mining  stocks,  their  farms  were 
mortgaged  and  many  of  them  were  bankrupt.  The 
Granger  movement,  a  revolt  against  the  exactions  of 
railroads  in  matters  of  freight  charges,  had  spread  from 
the  upper  Mississippi  states  into  California  and  the 
farmers,  under  their  associations  called  "Patrons  of 
Husbandry,"  or  popularly,  "Granges,"  had  already  in 
1872  and  1873  begun  to  make  themselves  felt  in  politics. 
In  all  parts  of  the  union  the  railroads  held  full  sway 
and  ruled  their  subjects  with  a  rod  of  iron.  While  their 
control  was  perhaps  more  absolute  in  the  west  than  it 
was  in  the  eastern  states,  still  the  rule  of  the  New  York 
Central  railroad  was  recognized  in  New  York,  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  king  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  state  of  New  Jersey  was  known  as  the  "  State  of 
Camden  and  Amboy." 

The  Granger  party  in  California  saw  their  oppor- 
tunity in  the  movement  for  a  new  constitution  and  cast 
their  votes  with  the  working  men  for  a  convention.  In 
fear  of  a  socialistic  revolution  of  the  state  government 
the  best  elements  of  the  Republican  and  Democratic 
parties  united  to  nominate  a  non-partisan  ticket.  The 
election  for  delegates  was  held  June  19,  1878,  and 
resulted  in  the  election  of: 

78  Non-partisan 
51  Working  men 
II  Republican 
10  Democratic 
2  Independent 

Total     152  Delegates. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  343 

The  Granger,  or  farmer  delegates  were  elected  under 
their  party  affiliations,  or  as  non-partisans,  but  they 
voted,  in  many  instances,  with  the  working  men. 

The  instrument  formed  by  this  convention  has  been 
spoken  of  as  the  "Sand-lot  Constitution."  It  is  not 
a  product  of  the  sand-lot,  although  some  of  its  pro- 
visions reflect  the  principles  of  the  Workingmen's 
party,  notably  in  the  article  on  taxation  and  that  on 
Chinese  immigration.  A  study  of  the  personnel  of  the 
convention,  which  included  some  of  the  strongest  and 
best  known  men  in  California,  would  convince  any 
unprejudiced  observer  that  the  influence  of  the  able 
and  conservative  element  would  go  far  towards  prevent- 
ing a  too  radical  change  of  government.  In  the  matter 
of  taxation  there  was  undoubtedly  an  effort  made  to 
shift  the  burden  from  the  shoulders  of  the  poor  to  those 
of  the  rich.  Experience  has  shown  the  futility  of  such 
efforts.  Capital  cannot  be  made  by  legislation  to 
pay  more  than  its  just  proportion  of  revenue.  The 
burden  merely  sifts  through  and  descends  until  it 
reaches  the  bowed  back  of  labor,  whose  later  condition 
is  worse  than  its  previous  one,  and  the  attempt  to  force 
the  lender  to  pay  a  tax  on  a  loan  secured  by  mortgage 
simply  insures  the  borrower  paying  a  higher  rate  of 
interest  to  cover  the  mortgage  tax,  and  usually  about 
twenty-five  per  cent  in  addition. 

While  the  convention  had  some  very  ignorant 
members  the  average  was  fairly  good  and  the  better 
class  included  such  able  men  as  Joseph  P.  Hoge,  a 
leader  of  the  San  Francisco  bar  who  had  served  three 
terms  in  congress  before  coming  to  California;  Doctor 
A.  B.  Shurtleff,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  a  practicing 


344  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

physician  of  Napa;  T.  B.  McFarland,  later  justice  of 
the  supreme  court;  S.  G.  Hillburn,  graduate  of  Tuft's 
college,  member  of  congress;  A.  C.  Freeman,  code 
commissioner;  Marion  Biggs,  president  of  State  Agri- 
cultural Society;  Clitus  Barbour,  graduate  of  Knox 
college,  lawyer  and  editor;  G.  A.  Johnson,  graduate  of 
Yale,  mayor  of  Santa  Rosa;  C.  W.  Cross  of  Nevada 
City,  graduate  of  Northwestern  university,  lawyer; 
A.  P.  Overton  of  Santa  Rosa,  lawyer,  judge,  and  banker; 
M.  M.  Estee,  lawyer  of  San  Francisco;  Isaac  S. 
Belcher,  judge;  W.  H.  L.  Barnes,  lawyer,  San  Francisco; 
Patrick  Reddy,  lawyer,  San  Francisco;  J.  E.  Hale  of 
Auburn,  lawyer,  county  judge;  Byron  Waters,  lawyer, 
San  Bernardino;  Alexander  Campbell  of  Oakland, 
leading  lawyer  of  the  San  Francisco  bar;  William  Van 
Voorhies,  graduate  of  Jackson  college,  first  secretary 
of  state,  law  partner  of  Edmund  Randolph;  Joseph 
W.  Winans,*  lawyer,  regent  of  the  University,  littera- 
teur; C.  G.  Finney  of  San  Buenaventura,  graduate 
of  Oberlin  college,  lawyer,  editor,  and  horticulturist; 
Dr.  Lucius  De  Witt  Morse,  graduate  of  New  York 
university;  Eugene  Casserly,  lawyer.  United  States 
senator;  David  S.  Terry,  chief  justice  of  California; 
Henry  Edgerton  of  Sacramento,  lawyer  and  orator; 
John  E.  Miller,  collector  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco, 
United  States  senator;  Hiram  Mills,  graduate  of 
Alleghany  college;  Walter  Van  Dyke,  judge;  John  S. 
Hager,  graduate  of  Princeton  college,  lawyer.  United 
States  senator;  Samuel  M.  Wilson,  a  leader  of  the  San 
Francisco  bar;  J.  M.  Rhodes,  banker,  farmer,  owner  of 
Capay   rancho;  J.   West  Martin,   agriculturist,   stock 

^Biography  of  Winans,  Vol.  V,  p.  4^1-432. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  345 

raiser,  banker,  and  many  other  prominent  men.  These 
were  strong  men  and  not  the  ones  to  put  their  names  to 
a  "Sand-lot  Constitution." 

The  convention  met  September  28,  1878,  and  sat 
one  hundred  and  fifty-six  working  days.  Joseph  P. 
Hoge  was  elected  president  and  the  secretary  was 
Joseph  Asbury  Johnson,  graduate  of  Beloit  college, 
newspaper  editor  and  owner.  That  there  was  a 
disposition  to  "cinch"  capital,  to  restrict  unjust 
discriminations  on  the  part  of  railroads,  and  extortion- 
ate rates  on  the  part  of  water  and  gas  companies, 
break  up  vicious  practices  indulged  in  by  mining 
companies,  may  be  admitted,  but  while  among  the 
lawyers,  who  secured  a  large  representation,  there  were 
some  so  closely  bound  by  business  ties  to  the  great 
corporations  as  to  be  disposed  to  protect  their  interests^ 
in  justice  to  many  of  them  it  must  be  said  that  their 
respect  for  the  principles  of  the  common  law  and  for 
sound  constitutional  doctrine  led  them  to  do  their 
best  to  restrain  the  wild  ideas  of  some  of  their  col- 
leagues. Of  the  members  fifty-eight  were  lawyers, 
thirty-nine  farmers,  seventeen  mechanics,  nine  mer- 
chants, five  physicians,  five  miners,  three  journalists, 
and  sixteen  of  various  occupations.  Two  had  died 
since  the  election  and  one  had  resigned. 

There  were  thirty-five  foreign-born  delegates  sitting 
in  the  convention  to  make  a  constitution  for  an  Ameri- 
can state  though  all  but  three  had  been  in  California 
for  more  than  ten  years.  The  Workingmen's  party 
had  with  the  Granger  vote  a  slight  majority  in  the 
convention  and  these  elements  had,  for  the  first  time, 
the  opportunity  for  direct  legislation,  and  they  proposed 


346  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

to  deprive  the  legislature  of  as  many  rights  and  privi- 
leges as  possible.  While  the  Sand-lot  party  was 
undoubtedly  ready  for  radical  changes  they  were  held 
in  check  by  the  farmers  who,  owning  their  lands,  were 
opposed  to  anything  approaching  socialism;  and  they 
formed  a  code  which  was  intended  to  secure  labor 
against  the  tyranny  of  capital,  which  could  not  be 
altered  at  every  session  of  the  legislature,  and  they 
declared  in  their  bill  of  rights  that  "no  property 
qualification  shall  ever  be  required  for  any  person  to 
vote  or  hold  office." 

The  legislative  department  of  the  government  was 
subjected  to  many  restrictions.  Sessions  were  to  begin 
on  the  first  Monday  after  the  first  day  of  January 
next  succeeding  the  election  of  its  members  and  after 
the  election  held  in  the  year  1880  were  to  be  biennial, 
and  no  pay  was  to  be  allowed  to  members  for  a  longer 
time  than  sixty  days.  The  governor  and  all  state 
officers,  with  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court  and  the 
judges  of  the  superior  courts  were  liable  to  impeach- 
ment, but  judgment  in  such  cases  was  extended  only 
to  removal  from  and  subsequent  disqualification  for 
office,  and  the  person  so  tried  and  punished  was  liable 
to  the  ordinary  process  of  law.  Embezzlement  of  the 
public  funds  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  state,  or 
of  any  county  or  municipality  therein,  should  render 
the  guilty  person  ineligible  to  any  office  in  the  state 
and  the  legislature  must  pass  laws  for  the  punishment 
of  this  crime  as  a  felony.  Appropriations  of  money 
from  the  state  treasury  or  grants  of  property  for 
the  use  of  corporations  or  institutions  not  under  the 
exclusive  control  of  the  state,  were  forbidden;  except 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  347 

that  aid  might  be  granted  to  orphanages,  or  homes 
for  the  indigent,  by  a  uniform  rule  proportioned  to  the 
number  of  inmates.  Under  the  first  constitution 
the  people  had  suffered  from  special  legislation  and  a 
cure  was  now  to  be  affected  to  some  extent  by  an 
extraordinary  number  of  restrictions  imposed.  That 
these  restrictions  were  wholesome  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  all  of  them  have  been  adopted  by  other  states. 
California  legislatures  have  made  many  attempts  to 
break  the  bounds  of  their  power  in  this  particular  and 
have  passed  many  laws  which  the  courts  have  been 
compelled  to  declare  unconstitutional.  After  twenty- 
nine  years'  experience  under  this  constitution  seventy- 
six  different  statutes  had  been  called  in  question  by  one 
or  more  sub-divisions  of  this  section  and  in  thirty-one 
cases  they  were  set  aside  as  local  or  special.*  The 
legislature  should  enact  laws  limiting  the  charges  of 
telegraph  and  gas  companies,  and  the  charges  for 
storage  and  wharfage.  Lobbying  or  attempting  to 
influence  legislation  by  bribery,  intimidation,  or  other 
dishonorable  means  was  declared  to  be  a  felony  and 
the  legislature  must  provide  a  punishment  therefor, 
and  any  member  accepting  a  bribe  should  be  guilty 
of  a  felony  and  punished  accordingly. 

In  the  executive  department  the  governor  could 
convene  the  legislature  in  extraordinary  session;  but 
it  could  legislate  only  on  subjects  specified  in  the 
proclamation  of  the  executive.  Pardons,  reprieves, 
and  commutations  of  sentences  could  be  granted  by 
the  governor;  but  a  person  twice  convicted  of  a  felony 
could  only  be  pardoned  upon  a  written  recommendation 

*Justice  Shaw  before  Commonwealth  Club,  March  24,  1909. 


348  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  a  majority  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court.  The 
governor  should  not,  during  his  incumbency,  be  elected 
a  senator  of  the  United  States.  In  civil  actions 
three-fourths  of  a  jury  might  render  a  verdict,  and  no 
judge  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court  should  be 
allowed  to  draw  his  pay  until  he  had  made  an  affidavit 
that  no  cause  in  his  court  remained  undecided  that  had 
been  submitted  for  decision  for  a  period  of  ninety  days. 
All  contracts  for  the  sale  of  shares  of  corporation  stocks 
on  margins  or  for  future  delivery  were  declared  void 
and  money  paid  on  such  contracts  might  be  recovered. 
The  subject  of  taxation  received  much  attention. 
It  was  one  of  the  main  issues  with  the  farmers  and  the 
working  men.  The  claim  was  made  that  the  railroad 
and  other  large  owners  of  uncultivated  land  held  for 
speculation,  did  not  pay  their  just  proportion  of  taxes. 
Of  the  $162,000,000  assessed  on  lands  outside  of  the 
towns,  it  was  stated  that  the  small  farmers  paid  on  an 
assessed  valuation  of  $125,000,000  leaving  but  $37,- 
000,000  assessment  on  the  large  owners.  An  attempt 
made  to  tax  mortgages,  deeds  of  trust,  etc.,  in  addition 
to  the  tax  on  the  full  value  of  the  land  failed,  but 
provision  was  made  for  taxing  the  land  for  its  full  value 
less  the  amount  of  the  mortgage  thereon  which  was 
assessed  to  the  owner  of  the  security,  and  any  contract 
by  which  the  debtor  obligated  himself  to  pay  the 
assessment  on  any  mortgage,  deed  of  trust,  or  other 
lien  was  void.  Thus  was  the  attempt  made  to  shift 
the  burden  from  the  shoulders  of  the  poor  man  only  to 
increase  its  weight;  for  the  advanced  rate  of  interest 


SAN  DIEGO 
The  Panama-California  Exposition 
Laguna  de  las  Flores 


UK 


aiiidav 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  349 

he  had  to  pay  was  calculated  to  cover  not  only  the 
tax  but  something  additional  to  meet  all  possible 
contingencies. 

Each  stockholder  of  a  corporation  was  made  liable 
for  such  proportion  of  its  liabilities,  incurred  during 
the  time  he  was  a  stockholder,  as  the  amount  of  shares 
held  by  him  bore  to  the  whole  of  the  subscribed  shares 
of  the  corporation;  and  the  trustees  of  corporations 
were  made  jointly  and  severally  liable  to  the  creditors 
and  stockholders  of  such  corporations  for  all  moneys 
embezzled  or  misappropriated  by  the  officers  during 
the  term  of  such  trustees.  No  corporation  could  issue 
stock  or  bonds  except  for  money  paid,  labor  done,  or 
property  received.  In  the  election  of  directors  cumu- 
lative voting  was  permitted.  Railroads  and  other 
transportation  companies  were  declared  to  be  common 
carriers;  no  officer,  director,  or  employe  of  such  corpo- 
ration should  be  interested  in  furnishing  material  or 
supplies  to  the  company,  nor  in  the  business  of  trans- 
portation over  the  works  owned  or  controlled  by  such 
company,  except  such  interest  as  lawfully  flows  from 
the  ownership  of  stock  therein;  nor  could  any  railroad 
or  other  transportation  company  grant  free  passes  or 
tickets  at  a  discount  to  any  person  holding  office  of 
honor,  trust,  or  profit  in  the  state,  other  than  railroad 
commissioner. 

Railroad  companies  were  forbidden  to  combine  with 
navigation  companies  or  with  any  common  carrier  by 
which  the  earnings  of  the  one  doing  the  carrying  were 
to  be  shared  with  the  other  not  doing  it;  and  whenever 
a  railroad  corporation  should,  for  the  purpose  of 
competing  with  any  other  common  carrier,  lower  its 


350  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

rates  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  freight 
from  one  point  to  another,  such  reduced  rates  should 
not  be  again  increased  without  the  consent  of  the 
authority  in  which  the  government  vested  the  power 
to  regulate  fares  and  freights;  and  no  discrimination 
should  be  made  in  charges  or  facilities  for  transportation 
of  passengers  or  freight  within  the  state,  or  coming 
from  or  going  to  any  other  state;  but  persons  and 
property  should  be  delivered  at  any  station,  landing, 
or  port,  at  charges  not  exceeding  the  rates  to  any  more 
distant  station. 

A  railroad  commission  was  created,  to  consist  of 
three  members  each  to  be  elected  in  a  specified  district 
to  serve  four  years.  This  commission  was  to  regulate 
the  freights  and  fares  of  railroad  and  transportation 
companies;  prescribe  a  uniform  system  of  accounts  to 
be  kept  by  them,  and  have  a  general  supervision  over 
their  business;  and  any  transportation  company  which 
should  fail  or  refuse  to  conform  to  the  rates  established 
by  the  commission,  or  charge  rates  in  excess  thereof, 
or  fail  to  keep  their  accounts  in  accordance  with  the 
system  prescribed  by  the  commission,  should  be  fined 
not  exceeding  $20,000  for  each  offence,  and  every  officer, 
agent,  or  employe  of  such  corporation  who  should 
demand  rates  in  excess  of  those  prescribed  should  pay 
a  fine  of  not  more  than  $5,000  or  be  imprisoned  in  the 
county  jail  not  more  than  one  year.  In  any  action  to 
recover  damages  against  a  railroad  company  on  account 
of  excessive  rates,  the  plaintiflt  might,  in  addition  to 
actual  damage,  recover,  in  the  discretion  of  the  judge 
or  jury,  exemplary  damages.  In  addition  to  the 
penalties  already  named,  the  legislature  might  enforce 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  351 

this  article  of  the  constitution  by  forfeiture  of  charter 
or  otherwise,  and  might  confer  further  power  on  the 
commissioners  if  necessary  to  the  performance  of  their 
duties. 

Through  their  agents  and  attorneys  in  the  convention 
and  in  the  press  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  company 
fought  this  article  bitterly  and  were  assisted  by  the 
mining  and  banking  corporations.  For  four  weeks  it 
was  debated  in  the  committee  of  the  whole  and  on 
final  vote  it  was  adopted  with  eighty-three  affirmative 
against  thirty-three  negative  votes.  The  fight  for  the 
article  was  led  by  Morris  M.  Estee  and  ably  seconded 
by  Judge  Hager  and  by  Judge  Hale  of  Auburn. 

City  and  county  governments  might  be  consolidated 
into  one  municipal  government  and  any  city  with  a 
population  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants might  frame  a  charter  for  its  own  government 
by  choosing  fifteen  free  holders  at  any  general  election 
to  prepare  a  charter  which,  after  approval  by  the 
qualified  electors  of  such  city,  should  be  submitted  to 
the  legislature  for  its  approval  or  rejection  as  a  whole, 
and  if  confirmed  by  the  legislature  it  should  become  the 
charter  of  such  city,  and  could  be  amended  at  intervals 
of  not  less  than  two  years,  the  proposed  amendments 
taking  the  same  course  as  the  original  charter. 

In  any  city  not  owning  its  gas  and  water  supply 
works  a  free  right  to  lay  pipes  in  its  streets  was  granted 
to  any  one  who  might  desire  to  use  such  pipes  for 
the  transmission  of  water  or  gas.  The  constitutional 
debates  show  that  the  purpose  of  this  section  was  to 
encourage  competition  and  prevent  monopolies  in  the 
matter  of  supplying  gas  and  water  for  public  use.     It 


352  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

did  not  produce  the  expected  result.  The  suggestion 
of  a  member  of  the  convention,  made  in  the  debate, 
that  the  provision  would  encourage  blackmailers  to 
start  new  gas  and  water  companies  for  the  purpose  of 
compelling  the  existing  companies  to  buy  them  out, 
well  describes  its  practical  effect.*  No  city,  county, 
town,  township,  or  school  district  should  incur  any 
liability  exceeding  the  income  provided  for  each  year, 
without  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  qualified 
electors  voting  at  a  special  election,  or  without  provid- 
ing for  the  interest  and  sinking  fund  to  extinguish  the 
same  within  a  limited  time.f 

As  was  to  be  expected  the  violent  agitation  against 
Chinese  immigration  that  had  been  the  principal 
feature  of  the  Workingmen's  movement  found  expres- 
sion in  the  constitution.  If  the  Sand-lot  party  had  had 
its  way,  the  most  absurd  lot  of  restrictions  and  regula- 
tions would  have  been  adopted  to  force  the  Chinese 
to  leave  the  country.  Indeed  one  member  introduced 
the  following  as  an  amendment  to  the  constitution.!]! 

^^ Resolved:  The  Chinese  must  go."  This  might 
have  been  taken  as  a  joke  had  it  not  been  supported 
by  a  large  number  of  proposed  amendments  equally 
wild  and  absurd:  such  as  prohibiting  Chinese  from 
fishing  in  the  waters  of  the  state;  that  they  should  not 
be  allowed  to  hold  property,  or  to  trade,  peddle,  or 
carry  on  any  mercantile  business;  of  requiring  from 
any  person  an  oath  to  the  effect  that  he  had  not,  after 

^Debates  and  Proceedings  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  p.  1076. 

fAn  inconvenience  from  this  restriction  was  experienced  in  San  Francisco  in  1882, 
when  for  two  or  three  months  tlie  city  was  in  darkness  because  of  the  exhaustion 
of  the  funds  to  pay  gas  bills. 

JHenry  K.  Turner  of  Sierra  county.  He  was  a  native  of  Maine,  a  graduate  of 
Bowdoin  College,  and  a  farmer.     Debates  and  Proceedings,  p.  84.. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  353 

ninety  days  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution, 
employed  in  any  manner  any  Chinaman  or  had  not 
bought  from,  or  sold  to,  or  used  anything  made  or 
produced  by  such  alien,  as  a  qualification  to  voting 
or  maintaining  a  suit  in  court;  of  testifying  in  court  in 
matters  in  which  white  men  were  concerned;  and  one 
member  went  so  far  as  to  move  that  the  first  section 
of  the  declaration  of  rights  be  amended  as  to  read: 
"All  men,  who  are  capable  of  becoming  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  are  by  nature  free  and  independent." 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  committee  on  Chinese  that  in 
view  of  the  fight  that  had  been  made  and  the  strength 
of  the  anti-Chinese  element  in  the  convention,  they 
made  so  conservative  a  report  as  they  did,  considering 
the  fact  that  the  Workingmen  and  the  Grangers  had 
a  clear  majority  in  the  committee.  The  ablest  men, 
however,  were  in  the  ranks  of  the  non-partisans.  The 
chairman,  John  F.  Miller,  said  that  the  first  section  of 
the  article  was  the  only  one  which  had  the  consent 
of  a  majority  of  the  committee.  This  article  simply 
authorizes  the  legislature  to  enact  all  needful  laws 
to  exercise  the  police  power  of  the  state  to  impose 
conditions  and  provide  means  and  mode  of  removal 
from  the  state  of  all  aliens  who  may  become  vagrants, 
mendicants,  criminals,  or  invalids  aflSiicted  with  con- 
tagious or  infectious  diseases,  or  otherwise  dangerous 
or  detrimental  to  the  well-being  or  peace  of  the  state. 
It  was  expected,  said  Mr.  Miller,  by  a  great  majority 
of  the  people  of  California  that  this  convention  would 
take  decisive  action  in  respect  to  what  is  regarded  by  the 
people  of  the  state  as  a  great,  increasing,  and  expanding 
evil — the  introduction  and  presence  of  large  numbers  of 


354  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Chinese.  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  this 
question  was  not  able  to  agree  upon  any  definite  plan 
to  be  adopted  by  the  state  for  the  extirpation  of  this 
evil.  All  agreed,  he  said,  that  Chinese  immigration 
was  an  evil  and  that  if  possible,  further  influx  of 
Chinese  to  this  country  should  be  stopped;  but  they 
differed  in  the  measures  which  should  be  adopted  to 
remedy  the  evil.  It  was  therefore  agreed  to  report  to  the 
convention  three  distinct  plans  and  while  a  majority  of 
the  committee  was  in  favor  of  one  or  the  other  of  these 
plans,  it  could  not  be  said  that  all  the  members  of  that 
majority  were  in  favor  of  any  of  the  plans  except  the 
one  embraced  in  the  first  section  of  the  article. 

The  first  plan  proceeds  upon  the  theory  that  the 
state  has  not  within  itself  the  power  to  prohibit  Chinese 
immigration.  It  proposes  to  deal  with  these  people 
as  a  part  of  the  population  of  the  state  after  they  have 
once  mingled  with  and  become  a  part  of  the  people; 
and  whatever  may  be  done  under  the  first  section, 
must  be  done  under  the  police  power  of  the  state. 

The  second  plan  absolutely  prohibits  the  further 
immigration  of  Chinese  to  the  state.  This  plan,  said 
Mr.  Miller,  would — if  the  state  had  the  power  to 
enforce  such  a  prohibition — end  the  Chinese  question 
at  once.  "But  I  take  the  ground,"  said  hfe,  "that  the 
state  has  no  such  power.  I  think  it  is  impolitic  and 
unwise  for  us,  at  this  time,  to  take  any  such  position." 
The  third  plan  contained  the  most  violent  of  the  tenets 
of  the  anti-Chinese  party.  It  provided  that  foreigners 
ineligible  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  should 
not  have  the  right  to  sue  or  be  sued  in  the  courts  of  the 
state,  and  that  any  lawyer  appearing  for  or  against 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  355 

them  should  forfeit  his  license  to  practice  law;  that 
no  such  foreigner  should  be  licensed  to  carry  on  any 
business,  trade,  or  occupation  in  the  state,  nor  should 
any  corporation  employing  them  be  granted  such 
license;  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  catch  fish  in 
the  waters  of  the  state;  nor  to  purchase,  own,  or  lease 
real  property.  The  presence  of  such  foreigners  was 
declared  to  be  dangerous  to  the  well-being  of  the  state 
and  the  legislature  was  directed  to  discourage  their 
immigration  by  all  means  within  its  power,  and  to 
provide  for  their  exclusion  from  residence  in  any  portion 
of  the  state  it  might  see  fit,  or  from  the  state;  provide 
methods,  by  their  taxation  or  otherwise,  for  the  expense 
of  such  exclusion;  provide  penalties  for  the  punishment 
of  persons  convicted  of  introducing  them  within  the 
forbidden  limits;  and  to  delegate  all  necessary  power 
to  cities  and  towns  for  their  removal  without  their 
limits.  Public  officers  were  forbidden  to  employ 
Chinese  in  any  capacity  whatever.  Violation  of  this 
provision  was  made  ground  for  removal  from  office;  no 
person  was  eligible  to  any  office  in  the  state  who,  at 
the  time  of  election  and  for  three  months  before, 
employed  Chinese,  and  the  right  of  suffrage  should  be 
denied  such  person. 

This  plan  was  characterized  by  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  as  a  plan  of  starvation  by  constitutional 
provision.  "If  the  Chinese,"  said  he,  "are  not  to  be 
employed  by  anybody,  are  not  permitted  to  labor,  they 
cannot  live.  Because  by  labor,  all  must  live,  and  if 
you  deprive  them  of  the  right  to  labor,  they  must 
starve.  *  *  *  I  hold  that  the  right  to  labor  is  as  high 
and  sacred  a   right  as  the  right  to  live.     That  you 


356  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

cannot  deprive  these  people  of  this  right  under  the 
treaty  with  China.  That  it  is  against  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  against  all  laws  of  civilized  communities.  But 
this  third  plan  goes  still  further;  it  strikes  at  the  liberty 
of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  who,  as  citizens, 
have  the  right  to  employ  whoever  they  choose."  He 
said  he  had  opposed  these  sections  in  the  committee 
and  would  oppose  them  here  (in  convention).  As  to 
the  statement  that  the  first  section  did  not  go  far 
enough  he  said,  "It  goes  as  far  as  the  state  can  go.  It 
goes  to  the  very  verge  of  constitutional  power,  and 
the  state  can  go  no  further."  He  made  the  statement 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  Chinese  who  came  to 
California  under  labor  contracts  were  of  the  criminal 
class  and  he  gave  the  number  of  Chinese  then  confined 
in  the  penitentiary,  in  the  jails,  and  in  the  insane 
asylums.  He  said  that  under  this  first  section  these 
could  be  removed  from  the  state.  "  If  the  people  over 
on  the  eastern  side  will  not  hear  our  complaints;"  he 
said,  "if  they  say  this  is  not  an  evil,  and  that  the 
Chinese  are  as  good  as  any  other  class  of  immigrants — 
that  we  are  making  a  great  fuss  and  noise  about  noth- 
ing— let  us  send  over  four,  or  five,  or  ten  thousand  of 
these  people — those  who  are  dangerous  to  the  well-being 
of  the  state — belonging  to  the  criminal  and  diseased 
classes;  let  us  send  them  a  brigade  or  two  of  these 
Chinamen  and  see  how  they  like  them.  There  would 
be  no  surer  way  of  changing  their  views  upon  the 
Chinese  question. "  Mr.  Miller's  address  was  eloquent 
and  forceful;  his  theories  well  digested  and  his  know- 
ledge of  his  subject  extensive.  He  reviewed  the  general 
policy  of  the  national  government  in  respect  to  the 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  357 

immigration  of  foreigners  from  colonial  times  down 
through  the  whole  life  of  the  republic,  and  denied  that 
Chinese  exclusion  was  a  departure  from  the  time- 
honored  and  uniform  policy  which  had  made  the 
United  States  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  all  lands, 
while  its  laws  had  welcomed  and  protected  all  who  came 
beneath  the  aegis  of  its  constitution.  He  held  that 
the  nation's  invitation  to  immigrants  had  been  limited 
to  white  men,  men  of  our  own  race  and  color,  of  similar 
aspirations,  hopes,  desires,  and  aims  in  life.  Men  who 
assimilate  with  our  people  and  are  fit  to  assimilate, 
who  build  their  homes  among  us,  respect  our  laws, 
love  liberty  and  representative  government,  who  be- 
come part  and  parcel  of  our  people,  who  follow  our 
fortunes  and  brave  our  disasters,  who  stand  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  us  in  battle,  who  fight  for  the  republic 
and  are  ready  to  die  in  her  defense.  These  are  the 
sorts  of  immigrants  who  have  been  invited  by  our  laws. 
Already  two-fifths  of  the  adult  male  population  of 
California  is  Chinese,  said  the  speaker,  and  the  number 
is  steadily  increasing.  It  is  an  unassimilative  popula- 
tion and  unfit  for  assimilation  with  people  of  our  race. 
Were  the  Chinese  to  amalgamate  at  all  with  our  people 
it  would  be  with  the  lowest,  most  vile  and  degraded  of 
our  race,  and  the  result  of  the  amalgamation  would  be 
a  hybrid  of  the  most  despicable,  a  mongrel  of  the  most 
detestable  that  has  ever  afflicted  the  earth.  We  are 
confronted  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pacific  with  four 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  the  same  variety  of  men 
as  those  already  here,  and  these  have  disorganized  our 
labor  system,  brought  thousands  of  our  people  to 
wretchedness  and  want,  degraded  labor  to  the  standard 


358  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  brute  energy,  poisoned  the  blood  of  our  youth,  and 
filled  our  streets  with  the  rot  of  their  decaying  civiliza- 
tion. There  are  millions  yet  to  come.  Will  they  come  ? 
The  history  of  the  human  race  is  descriptive  of  a 
westward  march  of  mankind  from  the  plains  of  Asia 
through  India  and  continental  Europe.  One  type  of 
man  has  succeeded  another  and  one  nation  has  sup- 
planted another  until  the  first  great  ocean  barrier 
was  reached.  Individual  men  from  the  most  intelligent 
and  enterprising  crossed  the  great  deep  and  planted 
themselves  upon  this  continent  to  find  a  new  or  lost 
and  forgotten  race,  which  they  have  supplanted,  and 
now,  on  the  California  shore  of  the  Pacific,  stand 
looking  out  over  the  broad  ocean  toward  the  land  from 
which  man  started. 

It  has  been  well  said  that,  through  climatic  causes, 
the  developing  influences  of  travel  and  scenery,  the 
effect  of  varieties  of  food,  and  other  causes,  the  man 
who  stands  upon  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  is  no  more 
like  the  man  who  has  remained  on  the  other  side  than 
two  beings  of  different  origin.  What  has  caused  the 
migrations  of  the  human  race?  Under  the  operation 
of  the  Malthusian  theory — that  there  is  a  constant 
tendency  in  all  animated  life  to  increase  beyond  the 
nourishment  provided  for  it — man  first  moved  west- 
ward because  to  the  west  was  land  and  subsistence.  A 
learned  scientist  declares  that  it  may  be  accepted  as 
a  law  that  all  great  migrations  have  one  inducing  cause 
— hunger;  and  it  is  a  fact  of  history  that  all  great 
migrations  have  been  in  search  of  subsistence,  or  land 
from  which  to  wrest  the  needs  of  animal  life.  Will  the 
Chinese   come?     Yes,   because   they   are   hungry.     It 


SAN  DIEGO 

The  Panama-California  Exposition 
El  Prado 


and 

1  I  1  V  n  _ 


■<on  has  sup- 
plantr  the  iir 

1  men  from  the  most  intellig< 

'  "ep  and  plantea 
d  a  new  or  lost 
npplanted,  and 
oosiasito*"- 

■■  BirfiKdidljr^oeetta'iiejk'i'a.id  the  land  fr< 


s  no  more 

''ie  than 

d  the 

ration 


_. ^  . .         .  west- 

ward because  to  the  west  was  land  and  subsistence.     A 
le  may  be  accepted  ; 

e  one  ir  '     '       cause 

.   «..v.   .c  ..,  c>  ■'-^"'  1  ..xi  great 

^  have  been  v  e,  or  land 

o  wrest  Will  the 

hungr 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  359 

is  estimated  and  stated  by  the  London  Times  that 
seventy  millions  of  the  people  of  the  northern  provinces 
of  China  are  in  a  state  of  starvation.  Seven  or  eight 
millions  have  already  perished,  and  millions  more 
must  die.  "Will  the  survivors  of  this  horror  remain 
in  China?  No.  Where  will  they  go — Westward? 
There  is  no  room.  Northward?  The  frozen  steppes  of 
Siberia  offer  nothing,  and  they  are  guarded  by  Russia. 
Where  do  they  turn  their  eyes?  To  the  far-off  mysteri- 
ous land  of  plenty  where  many  of  their  race  have  gone, 
to  the  east,  over  the  great  sea,  to  America,  to  the  land 
of  plenty — California. " 

This  nation,  said  the  speaker,  is  now  stocked  with  a 
vigorous,  intelligent,  brave,  and  enterprising  people 
who  now  number  over  forty  millions.  It  is  well 
ascertained  that  such  a  people,  under  such  conditions 
of  environment,  will  by  natural  increase  alone  double 
their  number  every  twenty-five  years.  Making  all 
proper  allowance  for  loss  by  war  or  pestilence,  the 
nation,  without  further  conquest  of  territory,  will 
number  within  a  century  more  than  two  hundred 
millions  of  people.  Accepting  the  Malthusian  theory, 
it  is  only  a  question  of  two  or  three  centuries  when  the 
population  of  the  United  States,  unless  limited  by 
individual  prudence,  or  by  war,  or  by  pestilence,  will 
have  increased  by  natural  increase  of  the  present  stock 
alone  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  soil  to  furnish  sub- 
sistence; that  within  two  hundred  years  this  nation 
will  be,  under  this  process,  over  populated  and  underfed. 

"The  Chinaman,"  said  Mr.  Miller,  "is  a  result  of  a 
training  in  the  art  of  low  life.  *  *  *  The  life  of  the  average 
Chinaman  has  been  a  mere  struggle  for  animal  exist- 


360  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

ence.  He  bears  with  him  the  heredity  of  poverty  and 
unrelenting  toil  for  food  through  thousands  of  years. 
His  physical  organs  have  become  adapted  to  insufficient 
food.  There  has  been  a  process  of  selection  going  on 
in  China  under  which  the  heavy  feeders  have  fallen 
out  and  under  the  law  of  the  'survival  of  the  fittest' 
none  but  those  who  can  practice  the  most  rigid  self- 
denial  as  to  food  remain.  They  have  also  been  trained 
by  centuries  of  incessant  toil  to  procure  the  maximum 
of  subsistence  from  the  soil.  The  result  of  this  life  is  a 
sinewy,  shriveled  human  creature,  whose  muscles  are 
as  iron,  whose  sinews  are  like  thongs,  whose  nerves 
are  like  steel  wires,  with  a  stomach  case-lined  with 
brass;  a  creature  who  can  toil  sixteen  hours  of  the 
twenty-four;  who  can  live  and  grow  fat  on  the  refuse 
of  any  American  laborer's  table.  Capable,  as  a  late 
writer  says,  'of  driving  the  vulture  from  his  prey, 
which  he  consumes,  and  then  devours  the  unclean  bird 
itself.'  He  is  a  human  crfeature  without  sympathy; 
supremely  selfish,  for  his  struggle  with  nature  has  kept 
him  busy  with  himself.  Without  aspirations — for  hope 
of  better  things  fled  from  his  race  centuries  ago.  The 
white  man  cannot  compete  in  the  field  of  labor  with 
such  a  being  as  that — he  cannot  until  he  becomes  such 
as  the  Chinaman  is.  To  compete  with  the  Chinese 
our  people  must  give  up  their  homes,  abandon  the 
family  altar,  tear  down  their  school  houses,  blot  out 
their  civilization,  and  adopt  the  Chinese  mode  of  life. 
If  the  white  man  is  to  compete  with  the  Chinaman  he 
must  adopt  a  cheaper  style  of  dress,  he  must  inure 
himself  to  the  cold,  he  must  labor  in  the  night;  he  must 
arise  at  the  first  gray  streaks  of  dawn  and  at  his  work. 


THE  REDWOODS 
Grove  of  the  Bohemian  Club  on  Russian  River 
Each  year,  at  this  Alidsummer  Encampment,  the  Club 
produces  an  original  musical  play.  The  author,  composer 
and  players  are  all  drawn  from  the  membership  of  the  club' 
It  is  produced  but  once  and  can  be  witnessed  only  by  members 
of  the  club  and  such  guests  as  may  be  invited  by  the  board  of 
directors. 


ORY  OF  CA 


V  iiCc.     lie  bears  ^  '  '  he  heiedity  ot  poverty  and 

food.     Tf  I  selection  going  on 

in  Ch^  he  heavy  feeders  have  fallen 

ou'  of  the  *  survival  of  the  fittest' 

no  practice  the  most  rigid   self- 

denial  They  have  also  been  trained 

U  to  procure  the  maximum 

oil.     The  result  of  this  life  is  a 

^^^^iire,  whose  muscles  are 

.    thongs,  whose,  nerves 

V  rifi  HKiaaM'  no'dufo^'J^irJric^giB^ftPtVo-g^se-lined  with 

duiD  aHj  ;*fi9mcpTF63n3'WMrrt:taBiyitQi)l}  ja:?^-i^^niolK)urs  of  the 

.•i^^oqmo?  .lOfUwfi  '»'•''     •"•'"  '-•>■-■'■'  'rn;-^;-,.^  r,«  ^"''^^bepqt^he  refuse 

[■J  3xIJ  lo  qiriiiac  bne  . 

•     ■Ira3m"{d  vl'fio  fasg^'onTiY/ or:  frir.i  run;  ouro  t:-:'  :j3Dribo'iq- jrfl  **^    **•    * 
!  sod  9fiJ  vd  bsJivnr  ad  xRf»  afi-^taaog'ifaqifctffSrdiijq-exttlo  his     pre\  . 

i]?3'^*clean  bird 

mpathy; 

'i'^.  kept 

hope 

w  f  with 

such 

-   _ -.      -„   , ...:.-   .-..    ^ainese 

our  people  must  give  up  their  homes,  abandon  the 
family  altar,  tear  down  their  school  houses,  blot  out 
ivilization,  and  adopt  the  Chinese  mode  of  life. 
.  V  white  man  is  to  compete  with  the  Chinaman  he 
must  adopt  a  cheaper  style  of  dress,  he  must  inure 
himself  to  the  cold,  he  must  labor  in  the  night;  he  must 
arise  at  the  first  gray  streaks  of  dawn  and  at  his  work 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  361 

Then  what  shall  be  his  food?  No  longer  the  savory 
meats,  the  pure,  white  bread  made  by  willing  hands. 
No!  He  must  live  as  the  Chinaman  lives;  work  as  the 
beast  works;  there  can  be  no  recreation,  no  rest, 
nothing  but  toil.  *  *  *  But  the  economist  says.  'What 
becomes  of  the  philosophic  theory  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest?'  History  does  not  record  that  the  types  and 
varieties  of  men  who  have  succeeded  in  supplanting 
others  of  different  type  were  the  fittest  morally  or 
intellectually.  The  fittest  is  he  who  can  survive,  that 
is  all  there  is  of  the  doctrine:  not  that  he  is  the  highest 
type  of  man. 

"The  question  here  is  not  merely  as  to  the  economics 
of  labor,  but  what  is  the  effect  of  this  immigration  upon 
the  life,  civilization,  and  government  of  this  country'' 
and  its  people?  *  *  *  The  American  could  not  if  he  would 
in  centuries  become  such  a  man  as  the  Chinaman,  and 
heaven  forbid  that  he  should.  If  the  Chinaman  comes 
and  occupies  the  fields  of  labor  now  open  to  the  white 
man,  it  operates  in  restraint  of  marriage  among  the 
whites,  and  stops  white  immigration.  Increase  of 
white  population  is  thereby  stopped,  for  the  prudent, 
intelligent,  sympathetic  white  man  will  not  bring 
innocent  beings  into  the  world  to  see  them  suffer  and 
starve  before  his  eyes.  I  repeat,  therefore,  that  to 
permit  unrestricted  Chinese  immigration,  supplants 
white  population,  and  this  cannot  be  too  often  re- 
peated. *  *  *  Is  this  wise?  Is  there  any  good  sense  in 
such  a  course?  We  have  driven  one  nation,  a  regal 
race,  from  this  land.  Naught  remains  of  that  race 
but  a  weak,  hounded,  and  troubled  remnant,  standing 
on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  pensively,  sadly  looking 


362  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

upon  the  broad  expanse  towards  the  setting  sun.  We 
have  left  the  Indian  nothing,  and  nothing  of  him 
scarcely  remains  but  his  sad,  doleful  history— a  history 
of  outrage  and  wrong.  No  mark  is  written  upon  the 
grave  of  his  race  but  that  awful,  cruel  word  'Fate.' 
He  has  gone  down  under  the  same  relentless  law,  the 
survival  of  the  fittest,  and  now  there  are  those  who 
would  supinely  yield  to  the  bland,  cunning,  selfish 
Chinaman  all  that  we  have  wrested  from  the  Indian, 
and  write  over  the  tomb  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization 
and  the  sepulchre  of  republican  liberty,  the  same  fearful 
word,  '  Fate. '  *  *  *  If  we  must  have  immigration,  let 
us  choose  it  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  or  kindred 
varieties  of  men — men  who  will  build  homes  and  love 
liberty;  who  appreciate  republican  institutions  and 
the  grandeur  of  western  civilization,  and  whose  intelli- 
gence and  loyalty  to  the  principles  of  our  government 
render  them  worthy  of  the  great  privilege  of  American 
citizenship."* 

We  have  given  this  report  of  the  committee  on  Chinese 
and  the  address  of  its  chairman  at  some  length  because 
the  Chinese  question  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
calling  of  the  convention  at  this  time,  and  the  address 
of  Mr.  Miller  is  a  fair  expression  of  California  opinion. t 

Mr.  Charles  V.  Stuart  of  Sonoma  denounced  the 
article  in  emphatic  language  as  the  most  savage 
monstrosity   ever  penned   by   man.     These   men,    he 


*Debates  and  Proceedings,  p.  628-633. 

tjohn  F.  Miller  was  born  in  Indiana  in  183 1  and  came  to  California  in  1853. 
He  returned  to  Indiana  in  1856;  served  during  the  Civil  War  in  the  Union  Army 
from  1861  to  1865,  retiring  as  major-general  by  brevet;  returned  to  California  in 
1865;  was  collector  of  the  port;  president  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company; 
United  States  Senator  1881-1886,  and  died  in  the  latter  year  in  Washington,  D.  C. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  363 

said,  after  being  invited  to  our  shores,  after  building 
our  railroads,  reclaiming  our  lands,  planting  our 
vineyards  and  orchards,  reaping  our  crops,  manufactur- 
ing our  woolen  and  other  goods,  relieving  our  wives  and 
daughters  of  household  drudgery,  and  adding  millions 
to  the  wealth  of  the  state  and  nation,  were  to  be 
subjected  to  this  unjust  and  inhuman  article  in  the 
organic  law  of  the  state;  and  he  appealed  to  the  mem- 
bers for  justice  for  the  Chinamen  and  begged  them 
not  to  destroy  the  industries  of  the  state.  "I  am  no 
stranger  here,"  he  said,  "nor  to  the  material  interests 
of  this  state,  after  a  residence  of  thirty  years  in  it.  I 
have  no  sacrifice  to  throw  before  this  Juggernaut  or  to 
appease  the  anger  of  Moloch,  and  am  sorry  to  see  so 
many  of  this  convention  standing  indifferently  by, 
while  others  are  trying  to  destroy  the  prosperity  of 
our  state  and  nation  by  silently  encouraging  this  insane 
crusade  against  Chinese  labor;  for  over  one  hundred 
thousand  men  would  follow  their  expulsion.  *  *  *  Don't 
they  know  that  the  loss  of  this  vast  army  of  labor 
would  bankrupt  and  overwhelm  all  the  manufacturers 
and  most  of  the  producers  of  this  state  .^  Deprive 
us  of  them,  sir,  and  you  will  have  no  more  ships  to 
load  from  our  bays,  no  more  fruit  to  adorn  our  tables, 
no  more  woolen  goods  to  warm  our  bodies,  no  more  wine 
to  cheer  our  lives  or  sustain  our  bodily  infirmities.  All 
will  return  again  to  its  primitive  condition — a  state 
worse  than  was  France  after  (the  Revocation  of)  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  or  of  Spain  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moors."  He  denied  the  charge  made  that  the  Chinese 
were  penurious  in  their  diet  and  ate  nothing  but  rice.  He 
claimed  that  they  lived  in  California  at  a  greater  cost  and 


364  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

had  a  greater  variety  of  food  in  their  ordinary  repast 
than  did  most  of  their  Caucasian  enemies.  Of  pork, 
poultry,  fish,  and  vegetables,  they  used  large  quantities, 
he  said,  and  for  which  they  paid  high  prices;  they  also 
used  large  quantities  of  American  made  clothing,  boots, 
shoes,  and  hats ;  the  general  condition  of  health  among 
them  was  good,  and  each  and  all  went  through  their 
ablutions  from  head  to  foot  daily.  In  regard  to  the 
cry  that  the  country  is  overrun  by  the  *' heathen 
Chinee"  and  that  white  labor  is  driven  from  all  employ- 
ment, to  starvation,  and  from  the  country,  he  said: 
"There  is  not  a  man  on  this  floor  but  knows  this  is  not 
so.  He  further  knows  that  it  is  only  the  cry  in  con- 
nection with  'the  Chinese  must  go,'  uttered  and 
continually  repeated,  day  by  day,  by  a  few  insane 
foreign  and  alien  leaders  of  a  party  in  San  Francisco 
who  are  deceiving  their  followers,  and  will  cause  want 
and  distress  in  their  wake.  Who  form  our  rioters  and 
hoodlums?"  he  asked.  "Who  fill  our  alms-houses? 
Who  are  plotting  to  overthrow  our  common  schools? 
Who  stuff  our  ballot-boxes?  Who  are  conspiring  to 
overthrow  and  destroy  our  government,  and  to  utterly 
stamp  out  liberty,  that  depotism  over  conscience, 
mind,  and  muscle,  may  rise  upon  the  ruins?  Who 
constitute  the  Mollie  Maguires?  Who  burn  our  rail- 
road depots?  Who  threaten  the  lives  of  our  best 
citizens?  Who  are  plotting  to  despoil  our  wealthy 
men?  Who  claim  two-thirds  of  our  public  offices? 
Not    Chinamen.*     Who    then    are    they?     You    may 

*Debates  and  Proceedings,  p.  1238.  Charles  V.  Stuart  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
in  1819  and  came  to  California,  overland,  In  1849.  In  1850  he,  in  partnership 
with  Bob  Ridley,  kept  the  Mansion  House  at  the  Mission  in  San  Francisco,  in  one 
of  the  mission  buildings.  Later  he  removed  to  Sonoma  valley,  where  he  became 
one  of  the  first  viniculturists. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  365 

search  history  through  all  time,  and  examine  the  nations 
of  the  east  through  their  rise  and  fall,  and  you  will  find 
China  where  it  now  is  and  has  been  for  over  five 
thousand  years.  Yet  you  will  fail  to  find  an  instance 
where  she  has  overrun  or  crowded  out  a  single  nation, 
however  near;  on  the  contrary,  her  laborers,  traders, 
and  merchants  have  been  encouraged  to  settle  in  all 
the  Dutch  and  Spanish  Philippine  Islands,  as  well  as 
in  the  English  possessions  of  India  and  the  French  in 
Cambodia,  and  many  of  them  are  today  their  merchant 
princes  and  bankers  in  many  of  these  possessions.  I 
charge  the  city  of  San  Francisco  with  cowardice," 
he  exclaimed,  "in  not  protecting  them  in  the  exercise 
of  their  rights  of  'life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,'  which  all  men  are  guaranteed  under  our 
flag;  while  they  have  collected  millions  of  dollars  in 
taxes,  licences,  and  otherwise,  yet  they  furnish  them 
(the  Chinese)  with  no  protection  in  return.  They  pass 
cruel  ordinances  against  them;  they  harass  and  annoy 
them  through  every  device  the  law  can  invent;  and 
why  are  similar  outrages  heaped  upon  them  in  nearly 
every  county,  town,  village,  or  hamlet  in  this  state? 
Tell  me;  tell  me;  oh  tell  me,  why  are  they  not  protected 
like  others  in  their  honest  toil?  In  case  the  outrages 
on  these  people  do  not  cease  in  this  state,  and  it  re- 
fuses longer  to  protect  them,  then  I  call  upon  our 
government  to  give  them  the  ballot,  that  they  may 
protect  themselves." 

While  the  address  of  General  Miller  voices  the 
prevailing  opinion  in  California  concerning  the  possible 
danger  in  unrestricted  immigration  of  Chinese,  and 
while  his  picture  of  the  average  Chinaman  who  has  the 


366  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

heredity  of  thousands  of  years  of  poverty  and  unrelent- 
ing toil  for  food  may  be  true  of  the  race  in  China,  it 
is  not  true  of  the  Chinaman  in  California,  as  all  who 
have  been  brought  into  close  contact  with  him  know. 
The  Chinamen  in  California  live  better  and  more 
generously  than  thousands  of  European  immigrants  of 
the  lower  class;  also  they  know  their  value  and  they 
demand  and  receive  fair  wages.  Mr.  Stuart  was  not 
a  practiced  speaker;  he  did  not  have  the  eloquence  of 
General  Miller  nor  did  he  have  the  educational  advan- 
tages possessed  by  the  committee's  chairman;  but  he 
was  his  equal  in  intelligence  and  honesty  of  purpose, 
and  his  statement  in  regard  to  the  Chinaman  is  true. 
We  hear  much  in  California  of  working  men  being 
crowded  out  of  employment  by  Chinese;  of  girls  unable 
to  obtain  work  in  families  as  servants;  while  all  Cali- 
fornians  know  that  the  great  mass  of  the  men  who 
tramp  from  end  to  end  of  the  state,  seeking  work, 
are  only  fearful  of  finding  it;  and  the  distressed  house- 
holder well  knows  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  female 
help  in  her  house,  while  the  intelligence  offices  are 
filled  with  women  willing  to  accept  large  wages  in  a 
family  where  there  is  little  to  do  and  several  to  do  it. 
The  article  as  finally  adopted  authorizes  the  legis- 
lature to  pass  such  laws  and  regulations  as  they  in  the 
exercise  of  the  police  power  of  the  state  may  deem 
necessary.  It  forbids  the  employment  of  Chinese  by 
any  corporation  formed  under  the  laws  of  the  state, 
or  upon  any  public  work,  and  directs  the  legislature  to 
take  measures  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of  Chinese 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  367 

into  the  state  and  to  authorize  cities  and  towns  to 
remove  Chinese  from  their  Umits  or  confine  them 
within  prescribed  bounds. 

The  United  States  circuit  court  promptly  declared 
that  the  federal  government  alone  could  determine 
what  aliens  should  be  permitted  to  land  within  the 
United  States  and  upon  what  conditions  they  should 
be  permitted  to  remain.  The  court  also  said  that  the 
section  forbidding  corporations  to  employ  Chinese  was 
in  violation  of  the  treaty  with  China  and  void.  The 
section  forbidding  the  employment  of  Chinese  on 
public  works  has  not  been  tested.  No  Chinamen,  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  have  ever  been  employed  on  any 
public  works  in  this  state  and  there  has  been  no  occasion 
for  testing  the  law.  It  is  claimed,  however,  that  the 
state  as  an  employer  of  labor  is  exercising  a  non-political 
function  and  may  hire  whom  it  pleases,  as  a  private 
citizen  may  do.  The  force  of  public  opinion,  thus 
expressed  in  the  constitution,  has  been  so  influential 
upon  public  officers  elected  by  popular  vote,  that  they 
have  generally  taken  care  that  no  contractor  for  public 
work  should  employ  Chinese  in  his  service.* 

Eight  hours  was  declared  to  constitute  a  day's 
labor  on  any  public  work. 

The  University  of  California  was  declared  to  be  a 
public  trust  and  should  continue  in  the  form  and  char- 
acter prescribed  in  the  act  creating  it.  It  should  be 
non-sectarian  in  the  administration  of  its  affairs.  The 
interest  on  the  money  derived  from  the  sale  of  lands 
donated  by  congress  should  be  used  to  maintain  at 

*Justice  Shaw  before  Commonwealth  Club,  March  24,  1909. 


368  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

least  one  agricultural  college,  and  no  person  should  be 
debarred  admission  to  any  of  the  collegiate  departments 
of  the  university  on  account  of  sex. 

State  indebtedness  could  not  be  incurred  for  a 
greater  amount  than  ^300,000  unless  in  case  of  war, 
invasion,  or  insurrection,  except  for  a  single  object, 
and  such  indebtedness  must  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of 
the  people  at  a  general  election.  We  have  seen  how 
easily  the  legislature  handled  this  provision.* 

The  holding  of  large  tracts  of  land  was  discouraged 
as  against  public  interest,  and  lands  belonging  to  the 
state,  suitable  for  cultivation,  should  be  granted  to 
actual  settlers  in  quantities  not  exceeding  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  to  each  settler,  under  such  conditions 
as  should  be  prescribed  by  law.  All  property,  real 
or  personal,  owned  by  either  husband  or  wife  before 
marriage,  and  all  that  acquired  by  either  of  them  by 
gift,  devise,  or  descent,  should  be  separate  property. 

The  use  of  all  water  already  appropriated  or  that 
might  hereafter  be  appropriated,  for  sale,  rental,  or 
distribution,  was  declared  to  be  a  public  use  and  subject 
to  the  rule  and  regulation  of  the  state;  and  any  company 
collecting  any  other  than  the  established  rates  would 
forfeit  its  franchise  and  works. 

On  Monday,  March  3,  1879,  the  constitution,  duly 
engrossed,  was  presented  for  final  action  and  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  fifteen, 
after  which  it  was  signed  by  the  members,  and  at 
1:15  p.  m.  the  convention  adjourned  sine  die.  The 
statement  made  by  one  California  writer  that  "Almost 
every  broad-minded,   able,   and   experienced   delegate 

*Thi8  volume,  page  284. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  369 

either  voted  directly  against  it  or  did  not  vote  at  all; 
and,  with  very  few  exceptions  none  entitled  to  that 
designation  voted  for  it,"  is  not  borne  out  by  an 
examination  of  the  vote,  which  discloses  such  names  as 
Joseph  P.  Hoge,  president  of  the  convention,  Morris 
M.  Estee,  Abraham  C.  Freeman,  G.  A.  Johnson  of 
Santa  Rosa,  Hiram  Mills,  Marion  Biggs,  Dr.  ShurtlefT, 
Walter  Van  Dyke,  William  Van  Voorhies,  Dr.  Morse 
of  San  Francisco,  John  M.  Rhodes  of  Yolo,  and  Judge 
Isaac  S.  Belcher,  voting  in  the  affirmative;  while 
Alexander  Campbell,  aye,  was  paired  with  Laine,  no, 
and  Judge  Hale  of  Auburn,  aye,  was  paired  with 
Shafter,  no.  These  men  were  certainly  equal  in 
intelligence  with  any  in  the  convention — or  in  the 
state  for  that  matter. 

On  May  7,  1879,  the  constitution  was  submitted  to 
the  people  and  was  ratified  by  a  majority  of  10,820 
out  of  145,088  votes  cast,  and  went  into  effect  July  4, 
1879,  as  to  officers  and  their  terms,  and  on  January 
I,  1880,  it  became  in  a  general  sense  the  organic  law 
of  the  land. 

The  debates  in  the  convention  show  great  ability 
on  the  part  of  many  of  its  members,  and  the  impracti- 
cability and  inadvisability  of  the  radical  measures 
advocated  by  the  so-called  reform  element  were  so 
clearly  shown  in  the  discussion  that  the  good  sense  of 
the  majority  promptly  rejected  them. 

One  of  the  most  frequently  heard  objections  to 
this  constitution  is  that  it  hampers  legislation  with  too 
many  limitations;  that  the  numerous  restrictions  upon 
legislative  power  have  an  evil  tendency,  in  that  they 
make  the  members  of  the  legislature  feel  that  they  are 


370  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

too  strictly  confined  in  their  powers  and  that  they 
are  without  responsibility;  that  laws  of  doubtful 
validity  and  usefulness  are  excused  on  the  ground  that 
if  they  are  in  excess  of  legislative  power,  the  courts 
will  promptly  declare  them  invalid;  that  the  presence 
of  so  many  limitations  engenders  carelessness  on  the 
part  of  the  people  in  choosing  legislators.  One  of  the 
chief  arguments  in  favor  of  calling  a  contitutional 
convention  in  this  year  of  1914  is  that  an  instrument 
that  has  been  changed  one  hundred  times  by  different 
authors  and  on  different  occasions  and  to  which  thirty 
more  changes  are  to  be  voted  upon  this  year,  can  have 
little  coherence  and  that  there  must  be  a  lack  of 
harmony  and  more  or  less  friction  between  its 
different  parts.  But  these  hundred  amendments  al- 
ready adopted  and  the  thirty  amendments  proposed, 
do  not  give  the  legislature  more  power  or  simplify  the 
constitution,  but  on  the  contrary  they  reserve  to 
the  people  more  and  more  power  and  inject  into  the 
constitution  greater  and  greater  particularity. 

When  the  constitution  came  to  be  submitted  to  the 
vote  of  the  people  it  was  vehemently  opposed  by 
the  corporations  and  the  wealthy  class,  while  some  of 
the  banks  announced  that  they  would  go  out  of  business 
if  it  was  adopted;  and  it  was  claimed  on  all  sides  that 
the  system  of  taxation  it  provided  would  drive  away 
capital.  An  influential  committee  composed  of  leading 
men  of  the  great  corporations  was  formed  and  steps 
were  taken  to  secure  to  the  opponents  of  the  consti- 
tution the  support  of  the  press.  In  this  they  were 
largely  successful,  and  in  San  Francisco  they  had 
the  support  of  all  the  journals  but  one.     The  struggle 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  371 

was  severe,  but  the  Granger  vote  combined  with  the 
Workingmen  and  others  not  included  under  those 
designations  who  approved  of  the  instrument  were 
sufficient  for  a  fair  majority.  San  Francisco,  the  home 
of  the  agitation,  rejected  it  by  a  majority  of  1,592 
out  of  a  total  vote  38,032;  while  Oakland  gave  1,496 
majority  against  it,  the  city  of  Sacramento  gave 
1,251  majority  against  it,  and  Santa  Clara  county 
gave  679  majority  against  it. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  for  this  constitution  that  it  is 
one  of  the  best  ever  written  any  more  than  it  can  be 
maintained  that  it  is  so  intolerably  bad  that  it  is  no 
constitution  at  all,  as  was  recently  said  by  a  man 
politically  prominent;  and  the  statement,  made  by  this 
same  individual,  that  Mr.  Bryce  in  his  American 
Commonwealth  published  the  document  "as  the  most 
extreme  horrible  example  he  knew  in  all  the  world  of 
how  not  to  make  a  constitution,"  is  as  false  in  fact 
as  it  is  in  syntax.  While  the  constitution  made  a  bad 
failure  in  its  endeavor  to  shift  the  burden  of  taxation 
and  to  overrule  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
it  contains  a  number  of  excellent  provisions.  Labor, 
which  worked  diligently  to  improve  its  condition,  is 
still  subject  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand;  legislators 
are  still  approached  by  the  corporation  attorney;  the 
Chinaman  still  works  contentedly,  and  the  railroad 
commissioners  were  as  wax  in  the  hands  of  the  com- 
panies. But  it  had  little  influence  upon  the  welfare 
of  the  state  or  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the 
people.  The  timid  capitalist  soon  emerged  from  his 
bomb-proof,  and  with  him  matters  are  as  they  were 
before.     His  investments  remained  in  California,  and 


372  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

none  of  his  banks  retired  from  business.  The  farmer 
harvested  his  crops  and  good  prices  helped  him  to 
forget  his  woes.  That  the  constitution  as  finally 
adopted  was  a  disappointment  to  the  Sand-lot  party- 
may  be  assumed.  They  could  point  to  no  accomplish- 
ment of  their  avowed  purpose  save  in  the  ineffectual 
provision  for  taxation  of  credits  and  in  their  foolish 
attempt  to  over-ride  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Chinese  article. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 
1776-1914 


WE  do  not  intend  to  give  in  this  chapter  a 
mass  of  dry  figures  and  statistics,  though 
we  have  them  in  abundance,  but  will  try 
to  convey  to  the  uncommercial  mind  a 
readable  account  of  the  difficulties  under  which  Cali- 
fornia labored  in  her  eftorts  to  establish  trade  relations 
with  the  world  and  the  degree  of  success  she  has 
attained. 

Up  to  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  California 
had  no  commerce.  No  foreign  vessel  was  allowed  to 
put  in  to  any  harbor  except  in  stress  of  weather  or 
shortage  of  food  or  water.  Even  in  that  case,  aid  was 
refused  unless  investigation  showed  the  necessity  for 
it.  The  people  were  strictly  forbidden  to  trade  not 
only  with  foreign  ships  but  with  those  of  Spain.  They 
could  only  buy  from  or  sell  to  the  regular  transports 
which  came  each  year  bringing  government  supplies 
to  the  presidios  and  missions.  The  government  pur- 
sued a  home  industry  policy  in  respect  to  sending  the 
supplies:  restricting  shipments  to  such  articles  as 
could  not  be  produced  or  raised  in  California,  and  the 
transports  carried  to  San  Bias  in  return  a  small  quantity 
of  salt,  salted  meat,  tallow,  and  otter  skins.  Within 
the  limits  of  the  province  goods  were  delivered  from 
the  presidio  warehouses  to  the  soldiers  for  their  pay  and 
to  settlers  for  grain  and  other  supplies  and  very  little 
money  was  used.  Supplies  furnished  the  presidios 
were  paid  by  goods  in  part  and  the  balance  settled  by 
draft  on  Mexico.  This  was  about  all  that  could  be 
called  trade,  since  the  distribution  of  supplies  consti- 
tuted the  traffic  of  the  country.  Each  year  an  appropria- 
tion was  made  from  the  royal  treasury  in  Mexico  for  all 


376  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

expenses  in  California,  and  each  year  in  March  or  April 
a  list  was  sent  from  California  of  all  the  articles  needed 
for  the  following  year  and  which  could  not  be  purchased 
in  the  province.  From  the  appropriation  was  deducted 
the  amount  of  drafts  on  Mexico  with  which  supplies  ob- 
tained in  California  had  been  paid,  and  also  the  amount 
of  various  royal  revenues  retained  in  California.  Then 
there  was  added  to  the  appropriation  the  amount  of  sup- 
plies furnished  in  California  to  vessels,  or  by  due  author- 
ity to  native  laborers,  or  otherwise  properly  disposed  of. 
This  done,  the  needed  goods  were  purchased  at  Mexico 
or  San  Bias  and  shipped  north  and  the  balance  of  the 
appropriation  sent  in  coin.  No  luxuries  could  be 
included  in  the  requisitions  and  the  soldiers  would 
sometimes  exchange  the  regularly  furnished  goods 
needed  by  their  families  for  liquors,  bright-colored 
cloths,  and  worthless  trinkets  brought  by  the  officers 
and  sailors  of  the  transports  on  private  venture.  This 
was  contraband  trade  and  to  prevent  it  the  governor 
sometimes  delayed  opening  the  regular  supplies  until 
after  the  vessel  had  departed.  The  accounts  of  each 
presidial  company  and  of  the  volunteers,*  and  artillery 
company  were  kept  separate,  and  the  hahilitado  (pay 
master  and  accounting  officer  of  the  company)  kept 
an  account  with  each  man,  whether  soldier,  civilian, 
or  priest,  and  there  was  usually  a  balance  of  a  few 
hundred  or  few  thousand  dollars  for  or  against  each 
company,  according  as  the  memorias  (memoranda — 
invoices)  were  less  or  greater  than  the  net  appropria- 
tion.    There  was  only  one  habilitado  in  the  province 

*Catalonia  Volunteers — a  corps  of  the  regular  army,  a  battalion  of  which  was 
serving  in  California. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        377 

that  was  capable  of  keeping  his  accounts  straight*  and 
the  others  were  always  in  more  or  less  confusion.  The 
company  was  responsible  for  its  habilitado's  deficit  and 
the  officer  behind  in  his  accounts  was  obliged  to  live  on 
twenty-five  cents  a  day  while  under  arrest  and  his  pay 
went  to  relieve  the  company's  liability.  These  embarrass- 
ments were  as  frequently  the  result  of  lack  of  skill  in 
keeping  accounts  as  of  honesty  in  handling  public  funds, 
and  it  was  not  until  1 795  that  the  accounts  of  the  first  ex- 
pedition of  1769  were  settled.  Man)'-  of  the  soldiers  were 
by  that  time  dead  and  their  heirs  scattered.  Where  the 
sums  due  them  were  large  their  heirs  were  sought,  but  if 
not  found,  the  money  was  spent  for  masses  for  the  souls 
of  the  departed  pioneers. f 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  governor,  Diego  Borica, 
(1794- 1 800),  petitioned  the  home  government  for  more 
liberal  treatment  of  the  colony  in  the  matter  of  trade, 
and  that  the  habilitado  general  in  Mexico  reported  in 
favor  of  permitting  the  exportation  of  furs,  hides, 
fish,  grain,  flax,  oil,  and  wine  from  the  province,  stating 
that  nothing  but  a  market  for  produce  would  arouse 
California  industries  from  stagnation;  but  beyond  one 
or  two  small  concessions  to  favored  individuals  nothing 
came  of  it.  Prices  in  California  in  1 795-1 800,  were: 
wheat,  ^3  per  fanega  (^1.88  per  bushel);  wool  9  cents 
per  pound;  bulls  ^3;  cows  $5;  calves  $5;  lambs  $1; 
horses  ^9;  mares  ^4;  colts  $5;  blankets  ^4.50;  brandy 
^1.07  per  pint;  figs  30  cents  per  pound;  olive-oil  40 
cents  per  pound;  chickens  50  cents  per  dozen.  Im- 
ported articles  sold  for:  hats  ^30  per  dozen;  stockings 

*Hermenegildo  Sal. 

^Provincial  Records,  Vol.  VI,  p.  S^Q-yoS,  Spanish  Archives  of  California. 


378  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

$9  to$i8  per  dozen;  handkerchiefs  ^13  to  $18  per  dozen; 
gold  lace  ^28  to  ^50  per  pound;  chocolate  1.75  reales 
to  3.5  reales  per  pound  (22  to  44  cents).* 

After  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  some  enter- 
prising Yankee  skippers  came  on  the  coast  in  search 
of  furs  and  took  the  risk  of  confiscation  to  secure  a 
cargo  of  skins  and  land  a  few  goods  in  payment.  What 
little  trade  there  was  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  officers 
of  the  transports  and  again  the  attempt  was  made 
to  induce  the  government  to  adopt  a  more  liberal 
policy  towards  California.  In  1803  the  viceroy  issued 
orders  prohibiting  officers  of  transports  from  trading 
at  all,  or  from  refusing  to  carry  the  goods  of  traders 
and  private  persons,  which  must  be  taken  on  board 
whenever  there  was  room  after  the  supplies  of  the 
presidios  and  missions  had  been  provided  for.  The 
returning  transports  could  bring  wheat  and  other 
produce  to  San  Bias  and  under  this  order  the  Ortegas 
offered  300  fanegas  of  wheat,  while  the  great  ranchos  of 
Felix,  Nieto,  Verdugo,  Reyes,  and  Polanco  tendered 
from  100  to  200  fanegas  each,  and  sixteen  other  ran- 
cheros  offered  from  40  to  200  fanegas.  But  these 
shipments  were  subject  to  many  conditions:  the 
products  of  tithes  and  other  royal  property  must  have 
preference  and  the  president  of  the  missions  an- 
nounced to  the  padres  that  the  vessels  would  receive  of 
mission  exports  certain  proportion  from  each  mission. 
After  that  the  public  could  be  served.  The  comandante 
of  Santa  Barbara  in  his  report  of  1805  called  attention 
to  the  necessity  of  an  outlet  for  California  produce 
and  suggested  that  a  separate  vessel  be  devoted  to 

♦Bancroft,  History  of  California,  Vol.  I,  p.  625-632. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        379 

that  special  purpose.  It  does  not  appear  that  this 
was  done  and  the  people  turned  eagerly  to  the  American 
ships  which  would  not  only  take  their  produce  but 
would  furnish  them  with  all  sorts  of  wines,  liquors, 
silks,  dry  goods,  clothing,  and  "Yankee  notions,"  at 
prices  the  San  Bias  merchants  could  not  meet.  All 
these  goods  were  confiscated  if  captured  and,  previous 
to  1805,  became  the  lawful  property  of  the  faithful 
subject  of  the  king  who  seized  them.  In  1801  the 
authorities  at  Mexico  sent  to  California  Joaquin 
Sanchez,  a  sergeant  of  marines  and  an  expert  in  the 
cultivation  and  preparation  of  hemp  and  flax,  to 
introduce  and  superintend  the  culture  of  those  plants. 
The  plan  was  a  failure  so  far  as  flax  was  concerned,  but 
in  regard  to  hemp  the  government  took  all  that  was 
raised  and  Governor  Arrillaga  was  instructed  to  deal 
liberally  with  the  farmers  and  pay  good  prices.  In  1810 
the  transports  took  120,000  pounds  of  hemp  fibre,  worth 
$16,800,  leaving  behind  98,750  pounds  which  they  were 
unable  to  carry.  This  was  the  last  shipment  made,  for 
in  that  year  the  revolution  broke  out  in  New  Spain  and 
the  government  could  neither  transport  nor  pay  for  the 
crop;  thus  the  new  industry  came  to  a  sudden  end. 

The  statistics  of  live  stock  for  18 10  show  that  the 
province  had  132,000  cattle,  25,000  horses,  3,000  mules, 
and  160,000  sheep  and  other  small  animals,  all  valued 
at  more  than  $1,500,000.  The  cost  to  the  royal  treasury 
for  the  administration  of  California  was  about  $86,000 
per  annum,  while  the  revenue  was  about  $12,000,  of 
which  some  $7,000  was  received  from  the  sale  of  tobacco 
— a  government  monopoly — in  the  form  of  cigarroSy 
puroSy  and  polvo   (cigarettes,  cigars,  and  snufi^).     The 


380  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

entire  white  population  (gente  de  razon)  of  California 
numbered  in  this  year  2,130,  and  there  was  raised  in  the 
province  55,230  bushels  of  wheat,  11,400  of  barley,  12,- 
360  of  corn,  and  4,810  of  beans,  pease,  and  various 
minor  grains. 

Mexico  entered  upon  the  war  for  independence  in 
1 810,  and  the  struggle  brought  nothing  but  sadness  to 
California.  It  was  not  that  California  felt  an  interest 
in  the  war,  for  she  did  not  and  took  no  part  in  it.  But 
she  missed  her  supply  ships,  for  the  transports  no  longer 
came,  the  soldiers  received  no  pay,  and  want  and 
suffering  was  their  portion.  The  comandantes  of  the 
presidios  complained  to  Governor  Arrillaga  that  their 
men  had  no  shirts  and  but  little  food.  The  governor 
sympathized  with  them  and  laid  before  the  viceroy 
the  sad  condition  of  the  California  presidios.  The 
missions  were  drawn  on  for  food  supplies  which  were 
paid  for  by  drafts  on  Mexico.  An  American  smuggler, 
the  Mercury^  Captain  George  Washington  Ayers,  was 
seized  and  condemned,  and  in  addition  to  the  mer- 
chandise she  carried,  $16,000  in  money  was  found  on 
board,  which  the  governor  faithfully  remitted  to  Mexico 
in  the  shape  of  a  draft  on  the  treasury:  a  transaction 
whereby  the  provincial  exchequer  was  replenished. 
Some  ships  came  from  Lima  with  goods  to  trade  for 
hides,  tallow,  and  other  products,  and  the  Russians, 
who  had  established  themselves  at  Bodega  on  the 
coast  of  California,  endeavored  to  open  trade  relations 
with  their  neighbors,  the  "brave  and  noble  Spaniards 
of  California. " 

The  necessities  of  the  people  were  such  that  a  limited 
amount  of  trade  with  the  American  ships  and  with  the 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        381 

Russian  settlement  was  winked  at  by  the  authorities, 
and  after  Mexico  achieved  her  independence  a  custom 
house  was  established  at  Monterey  and  trade  was 
openly  encouraged.  For  years  California  was  supplied 
with  manufactured  goods  by  Boston  skippers  who 
received  in  return,  first  otter,  beaver,  and  seal  skins, 
then  hides  and  tallow.  The  opportunity  for  trade  was 
eagerly  seized  by  the  Americans.  The  waters  of 
California  swarmed  with  sea-otter  and  fur-seals  while 
the  streams  furnished  a  large  number  of  beavers.  The 
Americans  secured  from  the  Russians  companies  of 
Aleuts  and  took  great  numbers  of  seals  and  sea-otter. 
The  Farallon  islands,  off  San  Francisco,  and  the  islands 
of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  furnished  quantities  of 
these  animals.  The  bay  of  San  Francisco  was  full 
of  sea-otter  and  the  Russians  in  their  bidarkas  entered 
and  hunted  them  under  the  very  guns  of  the  Spanish 
fort.  The  Russians  maintained  a  station  on  the 
Farallones,  whence  in  1810-11  the  ship  Albatross  took 
73,402  fur  seals,  according  to  the  log  of  the  captain's 
clerk,  W.  A.  Gale.  Down  to  the  year  1830  the  Russians 
took  on  the  California  coast  sea-otter  numbering 
from  five  to  ten  thousand  per  year.  These  valuable 
animals  that,  according  to  Vallejo,  were  so  plentiful  in 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco  in  1812  that  the  boatmen 
killed  them  with  their  oars,  had  in  1830  become  very 
scarce.  The  best  market  for  sea-otter  skins  was 
China  where  they  sold  for  sixty  dollars  each.  The 
American  ships,  after  disposing  of  their  merchandise 
on  the  coast  of  California,  would  sail  for  Canton,  sell 
their  skins,  and  load  with  teas  and  silks  for  Boston — a 
most  profitable  trade. 


382  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

It  is  difficult,  for  lack  of  statistics,  to  estimate  the 
extent  of  California's  trade  during  the  period  of 
Mexican  rule,  but  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
export  of  California  product  amounted,  at  its  highest, 
to  about  ^240,000  per  annum,  while  the  imports  were 
about  one-fourth  less.  The  operations  of  the  hide 
droghers  have  been  made  pretty  familiar  by  Richard 
Henry  Dana's  book  "Two  Years  Before  the  Mast" 
and  need  not  be  discussed  here.  The  business  was 
largely  in  the  hands  of  Boston  merchants  until  Bryant 
and  Sturgis  withdrew  because  they  would  not  meet 
the  competition  of  the  smugglers. 

With  the  discovery  of  gold  came  a  change  in  the 
whole  course  of  life  in  California.  Trade  sprang  to 
enormous  figures  and  the  prices  of  goods  rose  very 
high.  Beef,  pork,  and  flour  sold  from  forty  to  sixty 
dollars  a  barrel  and  other  things  in  proportion.  From 
all  quarters  of  the  globe  came  the  gold  seekers.  Every- 
thing that  would  float  was  chartered  for  San  Francisco 
and  in  1849  over  seven  hundred  ships  arrived  in  that 
port;  and  the  establishments  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
company  made  steam  connection  between  California 
and  the  outside  world.  At  first  all  rushed  to  the  gold 
fields  but  the  excessive  toil,  the  exposure,  and  the 
hardships  of  the  mining  camps  were  very  severe  and 
many  turned  from  the  diggings  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil  and  to  the  rewards  of  trade.  Land  was  now 
in  demand  and  the  feelings  of  the  immigrants  were 
shocked  to  find  so  much  of  the  best  of  it  owned  by 
the  Californians.  The  big  Spanish  grants  covering 
thousands  of  acres  were  abominations  to  them.  They 
thought  the  Americans  had  conquered  California  and 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        383 

that  they  had,  or  ought  to  have,  a  right  to  the  soil. 
Then  came  the  land  commission  appointed  under  the 
act  of  congress  for  the  settling  of  land  titles  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  it  proceeded  to  unsettle  titles  by  question- 
ing them.  This  resulted  in  the  Californians  losing 
the  greater  part  of  their  lands  which  passed  into  the 
hands  of  speculating  land  sharks  and  "champertous 
attorneys,"  as  Mr.  Justice  Greer  termed  them.*  This 
great  wrong  done  to  those  whom  we  were  bound  by 
all  humane  considerations  and  by  the  treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo  to  protect,  was  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  slow  growth  of  California  during  the 
first  fifty  years  of  statehood.  It  is  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  great  land  monopolies.  Had  the  land  covered 
by  the  Spanish  grants  remained  in  possession  of  its 
owners,  it  would  surely  have  passed  into  the  hands  of 
small  proprietors  as  the  demand  for  farms  arose.  As 
it  was  California  became  a  land  of  enormous  farms 
in  which  the  soil  was  cultivated  by  hired  laborers, 
employed  for  a  short  time  in  the  spring  and  summer 
and  discharged  after  harvest  to  shift  for  themselves 
until  the  next  season's  plow^ing  began.  This  condition 
naturally  led  to  the  establishment  of  great  wheat 
ranches  and  made  California  the  chief  exporter  of 
wheat  of  all  the  states  in  the  union. 

The  clipper  ship  era  began  in  1843  with  the  demand 
for  a  more  rapid  delivery  in  New  York  of  tea  from 
China.  The  first  clipper  ships,  so  called,  were  the 
Baltimore  clippers,  built  for  service  as  privateers  during 
the  war  of  18 12.  They  were  modeled  after  the  French 
luggers    which    visited    American    ports    during    the 

*See  Chapter  on  Land  Titles,  Vol  V,  p.  140. 


384  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Revolutionary  war,  and  were  the  fastest  craft  afloat 
in  their  day.  The  Baltimore  clippers  gained  a  world- 
wide reputation  for  speed  during  the  war  and  also 
later  as  African  slavers  and  as  Barbary  pirates.  They 
were  brigs,  brigantines,  fore  and  aft  and  topsail  schoon- 
ers, and  they  rarely  exceeded  two  hundred  tons  register. 
On  July  28,  1849,  the  Memnon,  under  Captain  George 
Gordon,  arrived  in  San  Francisco  one  hundred  and 
twenty  days  from  New  York.  She  was  of  1,068  tons 
burden,  built  in  1848  for  the  China  trade,  and  on 
her  first  voyage  was  commanded  by  Captain  Oliver 
Eldridge,  one  of  San  Francisco's  best  known  citizens.* 
San  Francisco,  from  a  drowsy  Mexican  trading  station, 
composed  of  a  cluster  of  some  fifty  adobe  houses  and 
frame  shacks,  whose  infrequent  excitement  had  been 
the  arrival  of  a  New  Bedford  whaler  or  a  Boston  hide 
drogher,  had  suddenly  become  one  of  the  great  seaports 
of  the  world.  During  the  year  1849,  775  vessels  cleared 
from  Atlantic  ports  for  San  Francisco,  twelve  of  which 
were  steamers.  Almost  every  seaport  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  sent  one  or  more  vessels  and  they  all 
carried  passengers.  The  schooner  Eureka  sailed  from 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  San  Francisco,  September  28, 
1849,  via  Welland  canal  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence 
and  carried  fifty-three  passengers.  In  the  year  1849, 
91,405  passengers  landed  at  San  Francisco  from  various 
ports  of  the  world,  of  almost  every  nationality  under 
the  sun  and  representing  some  of  the  best  and  some 

*In  1862  Captain  Eldridge  brought  out  the  steamship  Constitution  from  New 
York.  On  entering  Rio  de  Janeiro  Captain  Eldridge  paid  his  respects  to  the 
emperor,  Dom  Pedro  II.  Later  Dom  Pedro  returned  the  call,  and  it  was  said 
that  when  Captain  Eldridge  received  Dom  Pedro,  who  was  a  magnificent  looking 
man,  it  was  difficult  to  determine  which  of  the  two  was  the  kinglier  man,  the 
emperor  of  Brazil  or  the  Pacific  Mail  captain. 


OLIVER  ELDRIDGE 
Born  at  Yarmouth  Port,  September  19,  1818;  died  at  San 
Francisco,  December  16,  1902.  Captain  Eldridge  was  of 
old  Plymouth  Colony  stock  and  of  a  seafaring  family  and 
was  one  of  the  early  clipper  ship  commanders.  Later  he 
commanded  the  steamship  Atlantic  of  the  Collins  Line,  run- 
ning between  New  York  and  Liverpool  and  during  the  early 
part  of  the  Civil  War  the  ship  was  used  by  the  Government  as 
a  transport,  Captain  Eldridge  continuing  in  command.  In 
1862  he  brought  out  the  Constitution  for  the  Pacific  Mail  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  and  in  1865  returned  to  San  Fran- 
cisco as  agent  for  the  company,  which  position  he  filled  for 
eight  years.  Later  he  was  agent  for  many  years  of  the  New 
York  Board  of  Underwriters,  a  director  of  the  Pacific  Tele- 
phone Company  and  of  other  corporations.  He  was  a  man  of 
the  highest  standing,  of  fine  presence,  of  dignified  bearing, 
and  of  most  pleasing  and  courteous  address. 


384  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


'■       '   tionaiy  war,  and  were  the  fastest  craft  afloai 
day.     The  Baltimore  clippers  gained  a  world- 
wide reputation  for  speed  during  the  war  and  als 
later  as  African  slavers  and  as  Barbary  pirates.     The 
wereb^*       '    '  '        md  aft  and  topsail  schoon 

ers,  ani  --  two  hundred  tons  registe- 

On  Jul  the  Memnon,  under  Captain  Geor^ 

Gordor  a  San  Francisco  one  hundred 

twc  '  r5rerj¥cdb/iJ(^he  was  of  i,o68  tor. 

>>  .  iinajQ^  .tii*^  riiSiwtfllft  jAcade,  and  oi 

\^miihd^f'W  e^^ln  Olive 

.'R  ilDOJa  YnoIoO  rfjuomxIH  bio  .   . 

•i4p(iP^/ftB&^S  feii^vji^itizens. 
-AX-  'fepadTO^  station, 

'y^n&u&sA  iiad  been 
"^  ton  hi 
seaports 
sclearc"' 

"^.V"^tfi^Tt*''«f9i^^i^tf  i^iYtt  they  a; 

ca; 


and  carrit  ce  passengers.     In  the  year  184V. 

<)  1,405  passengers  landed  at  San  Francisco  from  various 

ports  of  the  world,  of  almost  every  nationality  under 

-m  and  representing  some  of  the  best  and  some 

-  r;,r,ta;n  F;,'rul..p  hroiiffli!:  oui  the  cteamshjp  Constitution  from  Nc-' 

dge  paid  his  respects  to  th  • 
led  the  call,  and  it  was  s^i.i 
ho  was  a  i 
o  was  th' 
;iu;ii'-  jMai!  csptam. 


OLIVTR    E  LDRIDGE 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        385 

of  the  worst  types  of  men  and  women.  The  officers 
and  crews,  with  hardly  an  exception,  hurried  to  the 
mines,  leaving  their  ships  to  take  care  of  themselves; 
in  some  instances  the  crews  did  not  even  wait  long 
enough  to  stow  the  sails  and  be  paid  off,  so  keen  were 
they  to  join  the  wild  race  for  gold.  Many  of  these 
vessels  never  left  the  harbor;  over  one  hundred  were 
turned  into  store  ships,  some  were  converted  into  hotels, 
hospitals,  and  saloons,  while  many  gradually  perished 
by  decay  and  sank  at  their  moorings. 

The  first  vessel  to  sail,  and  one  of  the  few  of  the 
California  fleet  of  1849  which  escaped  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, was  the  ship  Carolina.  This  vessel  returned, 
via  Valparaiso,  and  reached  Boston  February  20,  1850, 
with  a  cargo  of  copper.  A  letter  from  San  Francisco 
to  the  New  York  Herald,  dated  February  28,  1850, 
stated  that  wages  for  seamen  were  then  from  $125  to 
^200  a  month.  As  late  as  1854,  it  was  so  difficult 
to  induce  crews  to  leave  San  Francisco  that  captains 
were  frequentl}^  obliged  to  ship  men  out  of  jail,  whether 
they  were  sailors  or  not,  in  order  to  get  their  ships  to 
sea.* 

The  sudden  increase  in  population  caused  an  enor- 
mous demand  for  supplies  of  all  descriptions  and  the 
most  extraordinary  prices  prevailed.  The  speculators 
and  shippers  of  merchandise  in  the  east  were  as  deeply 
interested  in  the  output  of  the  mines  of  California  as 
the  gold  diggers  themselves.  No  one  could  predict 
how  long  this  state  of  affairs  would  continue;  with 
them  speed  meant  everything;  a  week  or  even  a  day's 
delay  might  result  in  heavy  loss,  or  what  was  to  them 

*Arthur  H,  Clark,  Clipper  Ship  Era,  p.  100-102. 


386  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  same  thing,  failure  to  reap  large  profits.  Hence 
the  demand  for  speed,  and  shippers  were  ready  to 
pay  the  most  incredible  rates  of  freight  for  a  fast 
voyage  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco.  The  clipper 
ship  Samuel  Russell  received  ^60  a  ton  in  1850,  amount 
for  the  1,200  tons  she  carried  to  ^72,000,  a  little  more 
than  her  first  cost  ready  for  sea.  Other  ships  received 
the  same  rate  but  as  ships  increased  in  tonnage  and 
number  the  rates  of  freight  gradually  declined  until  they 
reached  ^40  where  they  remained  for  several  years. 

It  was  not,  however,  all  profit  for  the  shipper.  The 
enormous  quantity  of  merchandise  sent  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, with  the  scarcity  of  storage  room  to  be  had  there, 
forced  many  sales  of  cargoes  by  auction  which  with  the 
enormous  cost  of  lighterage  caused  a  great  fall  in  prices 
and  many  ships  were  never  unloaded. 

The  California  clipper  period  covers  the  years  1850- 
1860,  during  the  first  four  years  of  which  nearly  all 
these  famous  ships,  numbering  one  hundred  and  sixty, 
were  built.  These  splendid  ships — the  swiftest  sailing 
vessels  that  the  world  has  ever  seen  or  is  likely  to  see — 
sailed  their  great  ocean  matches  for  the  stake  of 
commercial  supremacy  and  the  championship  of  the 
seas,  over  courses  encircling  the  globe,  and  their 
records,  made  more  than  a  half  a  century  ago,  are  still 
unsurpassed.  After  carrying  their  cargoes  to  California 
the  ships  would  return  round  Cape  Horn  in  ballast  for 
another  cargo  at  the  same  rate,  as  they  could  well 
afford  to  do,  or  would  cross  the  Pacific  in  ballast  and 
load  tea  for  New  York  or  London.  Many  of  them 
more  than  cleared  their  original  cost  in  less  than  one 
year,  during  a  voyage  round  the  globe. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        387 

The  California  clippers  built  from  1850  to  1854  were 
long,  narrow,  and  exceedingly  sharp,  with  lofty  masts 
and  great  spread  of  canvas.  The  utmost  skill  and 
judgment  were  required  to  rig  these  heavily  masted 
ships  that  they  might  spread  canvas  enough  to  sail 
fast  in  moderate  winds  and  not  have  things  carried 
away  in  a  gale.  Not  only  were  the  ships  fast  but 
were  handsome  as  well  and  owners  spent  large  sums 
of  money  on  decorations.  The  deck  fittings  were  of 
India  teak  and  Spanish  mahogany  and  were  marvels 
of  neatness  and  finish.  Such  was  the  renown  of  the 
California  clippers  that  at  Hong  Kong  they  were 
immediately  chartered  for  tea  for  the  London  markets 
at  £  6  to  £  6, 1  OS  per  ton  of  forty  cubic  feet  with  imme- 
diate dispatch,  while  British  ships  were  loading  slowly 
at  £  3,  los  per  ton  of  fifty  cubic  feet. 

On  August  31,  1851,  the  Flying  Cloud  arrived  at 
San  Francisco  89  days  from  New  York — a  passage 
never  surpassed  and  only  twice  equaled — once  three 
years  later  by  the  Flying  Cloud  herself,  and  once  in 
i860  by  the  Andrew  Jackson.  This  run  of  185 1  was  a 
most  remarkable  passage  and  made  under  circum- 
stances by  no  means  the  most  favorable,  the  ship 
having  lost  her  main  and  mizzen  topgallant  masts  and 
main  topsail  three  days  out  from  New  York,  sprung 
her  mainmast,  split  fore  and  main  topmast  staysails 
in  a  thunder  storm,  and  lost  fore  topgallant  mast.  The 
captain  also  had  his  first  officer  suspended  for  long 
continued  neglect  of  duty  and  for  cutting  up  rigging 
contrary  to  his  orders.  All  damages  were  repaired  at 
sea  and  during  the  run  374  miles  were  made  in  one  day. 
Cape  Horn  was  rounded  July  23d  and  the  run  from 


388  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

50°  south  in  the  Atlantic  to  50°  south  in  the  Pacilic 
was  made  in  seven  days,  a  record  only  once  exceeded.* 

The  exploit  of  the  Flying  Cloud  caused  great  rejoicing 
in  San  Francsico  while  in  the  Atlantic  ports  the  news 
was  received  with  enthusiasm  and  commented  on  in  the 
press.  On  her  return  to  New  York  the  owners  had  her 
log  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  printed  in  gold 
letters  on  white  silk  for  distribution  among  their  friends, 
and  her  commander,  Captain  Josiah  Perkins  Creesy, 
fled  to  his  home  in  Marblehead  to  escape  notoriety. 

A  great  many  voyages  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco  were  made  by  these  ships  in  from  90  to  no 
days  and  the  record  shows  159  runs  within  an  average 
of  92  days.  The  speed  of  these  vessels  will  be  seen 
when  it  is  understood  that  the  time  of  other  ships, 
not  clippers,  between  New  York  and  San  Francisco 
was  from  150  to  200  days  and  even  more. 

Captain  Robert  H.  Waterman,  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent of  the  clipper  ship  commanders,  retired  from  the  sea 
in  1 85 1,  after  thirty-three  years'  service,  and  bought 
the  Suisun  rancho,  four  leagues,  in  Solano  county,  and 
founded  the  town  of  Fairfield.  In  1852  he  was  made 
port  warden  and  inspector  of  hulls  at  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  a  position  he  held  for  twenty-eight  years. 

The  Sovereign  oj  the  Seas,  2,421  tons  burden,  launched 
in  1852,  Captain  Lauchlan  McKay,  carried  a  crew  of 
105  men  and  boys.  She  was  built  by  Donald  McKay 
at  East  Boston  and  was  the  largest  clipper  that  had  yet 
appeared.  She  sailed  from  New  York  on  her  maiden 
voyage,  August  4,  1852,  carrying  2,950  tons  of  cargo 
and  her  freight  was  $84,000.     On  her  return  she  sailed 

*The  Young  America  made  it  in  six  days  in  1854. 


THE  COMET,  CALIFORNIA  CLIPPER, 
OFF  BERMUDA,  1852 

[By  permission  of  Captain  Arthur  H.  Clark  and 
G.  P.  Putnam's  So7is.] 

The  Comet  was  built  by  William  H.  Webb,  at  New  York, 
1 85 1.  She  registered  1836  tons,  was  229  feet  long,  42  feet 
beam,  and  22  feet  8  inches  in  depth.  In  1854  she  made  the 
passage  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York  in  76  daj's,  the 
record  passage. 

The  Comet  was  sold  under  the  British  flag  and  renamed  the 
Fiery  Star.  She  sailed  between  England  and  Australia  for 
several  years  and  was  burned  at  sea  in  1865  while  on  a  voyage 
from  Australia  to  London.  Her  crew  fought  the  fire  twenty- 
one  days  and  were  rescued  by  the  ship  Dauntless. 


JALIF- 

,n  in   inc  Atlantic  to  50    ^,*vLu.h  in  the  Paci1. 
.■de  in  seven  davs.  a  record  only  once  exceeded 
The  expi  ?  Cloud  caused  great  rejoicii: 

e  Atlantic  ports  the  nev 
n  and  commented  on  in  the 
..  vv  York  the  owners  had  hei 
'  from  ^  an  Francisco  printed  in  goi 

-itribution  among  their  friend; 
Litiuander,  '^^aptain  Josiah  Perkins  Crees} . 
jT-^^qT.n  -^  f/^o^iJfsAbc^dMOOeaffiQDe  notoriety. 

^''         "^¥^f^fii   New   York   to   San 
aV^^A^tP^^^^^^^r"^"^S^r^-!?^1p?'^iffrom  90  to  no 

'■'   'i^aHi^^.gnoi  j4i^-^s8Bvt  ,2rto/^}E8™^i2i^Vi^eis.i^U^  be  seen 
;,  [.-^^p  p^&io^M^i?^i^i.f%v.A}^^K^\&^'^l\^  ships, 

3Hl-,8YBb  dv  ni  ;lioY  waM  ttfrODgiDn^sT  as,2,  moil  aaBSBBq  t- 

n<.'i    ■liV'Tx-rs,   Detween   New    i' oriv  _^g^^^^^1|^5^^ r rancisco 

sill  !bsm£4^';bnfe:jBB'i2}thatirf}  labW  bidgfJSjBJffttWftttaHT 

'     '    ^    '  '^"«Ms^3W?)^^.!^''f,*e-^M^mostemi- 

.7  ?d8i  ni  B52  Jb  bamud  esv/  bnB  stbsx  iBnsvpa 

.  ..:7/j3iria(i'        ".         'ti  :fioB/idrb^*iUiUl"A'ii*flomthesea 

'^r.i-  V  /^  b?vo8ai,j3i3w.i^«s>,X^b9gft(;l    bought 

cagues,  in  Solano  county,  and 
iou  *!  In  1852  he  was  made 

'  '      port  of  San 

.,        -^iit  years. 

,421  tons  burden,  launchec: 
.n  1852,  Captain  Lauchlan  McKay,  carried  a  crew  of 

She  was  built  by  Donald  McKay 

i.3^>Mi.  as  the  largest  clipper  that  had  yei 

d.     S^  .1  from  New  York  on  her  maidei 

).,  1852,  carrying  2,950  tons  of  cargc 

t  was  ^84,000.     On  her  return  she  sailed 

a  made  it  in  six  days  in  1854. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        389 

from  Honolulu  with  a  cargo  of  sperm  oil  for  New  York 
and  on  this  voyage  she  made  the  record  run  of  424 
miles  in  24  hours. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  trips  this  year  was  that 
of  the  Comet,  1,836  tons,  Captain  E.  C.  Gardner.  She 
sailed  from  Boston,  September  28,  and  when  off  Ber- 
muda was  caught  in  a  terrific  southeaster  which 
carried  away  her  foretopmast  stays  sending  the  fore- 
topmast  over  the  side,  and  making  junk  of  the  two 
topsails.  Captain  Gardener  rerigged  his  ship  at  sea 
and  took  her  into  San  Francisco,  January  17,  1853,  112 
days  from  Boston.* 

The  launching  of  these  ships  and  their  sailing  days 
were  great  events.  At  Donald  McKay's  ship  yard  at 
East  Boston,  the  Great  Republic,  the  largest  extreme 
clipper  ever  built,  was  launched  on  October  4,  1853, 
and  it  is  said  that  thirty  thousand  persons  crossed  by 
ferry  to  East  Boston  while  as  many  more  thronged  the 
Chelsea  bridge,  the  navy  yard  at  Charlestown,  and 
the  w^harves  at  the  north  end  of  the  city.  Business 
was  suspended  and  the  schools  were  closed,  that  all 
might  have  an  opportunity  to  see  the  launch;  the  ship- 
ping was  dressed  with  bunting  and  the  harbor  filled 
with  craft  crowded  with  people.  She  was  4,555  tons 
register,  length  335  feet,  breadth  53  feet,  depth  38  feet; 
while  the  truck  of  her  mainmast  towered  276  feet  above 
her  keel,  and  her  main  yard  was  120  feet  long.  She  was 
burned  at  the  wharf  in  New  York  while  loading  for 
Liverpool  for  her  maiden  voyage. t 

*Clipper  Skip  Era,  p.  224. 

tThe  Great  Republic  was  rebuilt — register  3,3^7  tons — and  sailed  for  Liverp>ool, 
February  21,  1855.  During  the  Civil  War  she  was  charted  by  the  government 
as  a  troop  ship. 


390  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

A  California  clipper  getting  under  way  off  Battery- 
Park  was  a  beautiful  sight  and  an  event  in  which  a 
large  part  of  the  community  was  interested.  It  was 
customary  for  a  clipper  after  loading  to  drop  down  the 
East  river  and  anchor  off  Battery  Park,  then  a  fashion- 
able resort.  The  ships  seldom  made  use  of  tug  boats, 
for  with  a  leading  breeze,  they  could  sail  to  and  from 
Sandy  Hook  much  faster  than  they  could  be  towed. 
As  the  tide  begins  to  turn  the  capstan  bars  are  manned 
and  the  chanty  man  breaks  into  song  while  the  sailors 
roar  in  refrain.  With  the  anchor  apeak,  the  sails  are 
loosed  fore  and  aft,  and  with  canvas  set  and  yards 
braced  to  the  wind,  the  clipper  looks  like  some  great 
sea-bird  ready  for  flight.  As  she  pays  off  and  gathers 
way  in  the  slack  water,  the  crowd  at  Battery  Park 
gives  three  parting  cheers,  the  ensign  is  dipped,  and  the 
clipper  is  on  her  way  to  Cape  Horn.* 

So  close  was  the  contest  for  supremacy  among  these 
famous  ships  that  sometimes  two  engaged  in  a  match 
were  scarcely  out  of  sight  of  each  other  during  a  voyage 
of  from  15,000  to  16,000  miles.  The  captains  were 
perhaps  the  finest  specimens  of  seamen  that  ever  sailed 
out  of  New  York,  and  they  drove  the  ships  day  and 
night,  crowding  on  all  the  canvas  they  could  carry. 
It  is  related  that  the  Flying  Fish  came  up  alongside  of 
the  John  Gilpin  off  Cape  Horn  and  Captain  Nickels 
of  the  Flying  Fish  invited  Captain  Doane  of  the  John 
Gilpin  to  come  aboard  and  dine  with  him;  which  invi- 
tation Captain  Doane  records  in  his  log  book,  "I  was 
reluctantly  obliged  to  decline. "f     These  ships  made 

*Clipper  Ship  Era,  p.  118. 
^Clipper  Ship  Era,  p.  225. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        391 

this  run  to  San  Francisco — the  Flying  Fish  in  ninety- 
two  days  and  the  John  Gilpin  in  ninety-three. 

In  1854  a  change  came  over  the  California  trade. 
The  wild  rush  to  the  mines  had  subsided,  the  markets 
of  San  Francisco  were  well  supplied  with  goods,  and 
great  speed  in  the  transportation  of  merchandise  was 
unnecessary.  The  rates  of  freight  had  declined  though 
they  were  still  good  and  this  year  saw  the  last  of  the 
extreme  clippers  launched.  In  1855  a  number  of  ships 
known  as  medium  clippers  were  built,  some  of  which 
proved  to  be  exceedingly  fast.  In  this  year  the  first 
shipment  of  wheat  from  California  was  made,  consisting 
of  4,752  bags  (317  tons).  This  was  followed  by  a  full 
cargo  of  1,400  tons  for  New  York  at  twenty-eight  dollars 
a  ton  freight.  There  was  great  financial  depression  in 
San  Francisco  in  1855  following  the  failure  of  many 
banks.  Before  a  recovery  was  made  the  panic  of  1857 
was  on  and  dullness  of  trade  was  general  throughout 
the  United  States.  It  was  severely  felt  by  the  shipping 
interests;  freights  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco 
declined  to  ten  dollars  per  ton  and  ships  that  had  for- 
merly loaded  cargoes  for  San  Francisco  night  and  day 
and  were  hurried  to  sea  as  quickly  as  possible,  now  lay 
at  their  loading  berths  for  weeks  leisurely  taking  on 
such  cargo  as  their  agents  could  engage.  Vessels  lay 
idle  at  wharves  of  Atlantic  ports  for  weeks  and  months 
with  sails  unbent,  waiting  for  employment.  With  the 
changed  conditions  in  California  the  demand  came  for 
vessels  of  greater  carrying  capacity  and  less  expensive 
operation.  The  day  of  the  California  clippers  was  over. 
Some  were  lost,  some  were  sold  and  their  names  changed 
and  some  have  disappeared.     Other  ships  took  their 


392  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

places  and  In  some  cases  their  names,  but  they  were 
not  the  same;  and  while  a  moderate  speed  was  attained 
the  glorious  days  of  the  clipper  ships  were  past.* 

Conditions  were  changing  in  California.  Under 
Spanish  and  Mexican  rule  the  rancheros  had  always 
raised  a  quantity  of  wheat,  and  by  1784  shipments  of 
wheat  and  flour  for  the  garrisons  were  declared  needless. 
During  the  earlier  years  of  the  gold  excitement,  how- 
ever, little  farming  of  any  kind  was  done  and  almost 
all  food  was  imported;  but  as  the  possibilities  of  the 
country  began  to  be  realized,  agriculturists  soon  found 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  promised  greater  rewards 
than  digging  for  gold.  In  1853  the  importations  of 
grain,  flour,  and  beans  aggregated  eight  millions 
of  dollars,  but  in  two  or  three  years  this  had  entirely 
ceased  and  in  1855  California  began  to  export  wheat. 
Even  the  dry  and  dusty  plains  of  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin,  so  much  despised  by  travelers  and  the 
early  comers,  would,  it  was  found,  grow  sixty  to  seventy 
bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre. 

The  California  wheat,  which  is  rich  in  gluten,  was 
greatly  favored  by  European  buyers,  who  used  it  for 
mixing  with  the  hard  Hungarian  and  other  European 
wheats,  and  it  always  commanded  good  prices.  In 
i860  the  crop  was  5,900,000  bushels  with  the  yield 
about  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  California  rapidly 
came  to  the  front  as  a  large  exporter.  Ships  came  from 
all  the  principal  European  ports  and  a  great  trade 
sprang  up.     The  larger  part  of  it  went  to  the  United 


*Most  of  the  matter  relating  to  the  clipper  ships  is  taken  from  Captain  Arthur 
H.  Clark's  fascinating  Clipper  Ship  Era  (G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York  and 
London,  1911). 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        393 

Kingdom  and  ships  coming  for  wheat  brought  to 
CaHfornia  coal  from  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales. 
English  ships  also  loaded  with  merchandise  for  Austra- 
lia; thence  wath  coal  for  California;  thence  with  wheat 
for  Antwerp  or  the  United  Kingdom — three  charters 
for  the  round  trip.  In  this  manner  was  California 
supplied  with  foreign  coals  of  high  quality  at  low  prices. 
The  maximum  of  wheat  growing  was  reached  in  the 
eighties  when  the  product  amounted  to  50,000,000 
bushels  and  California  took  rank  as  the  first  wheat 
exporting  state  in  the  union,  while  the  high  tide  of 
wheat  exports  came  in  1881,  when  about  33,000,000 
bushels  were  shipped,  making  an  important  contribu- 
tion to  the  food  stuffs  of  the  world,  the  greater  part 
going  to  England.  California  cargoes  were  quoted  in 
the  Liverpool  markets  three  months  after  shipment  as 
"off  coast,"  and  per  quarter  (480  pounds).  The  large 
volume  of  this  business  brought  great  merchants  to  the 
fore,  among  whom,  Isaac  Friedlander  became  the  most 
prominent  and  was  known  as  the  "Grain  King."  For 
a  number  of  years  Friedlander  held  this  preeminence 
and  then,  through  a  series  of  untoward  events,  failed, 
and  George  W.  McNear  succeeded  to  the  throne.  In 
the  path  of  the  grain  king  lie  many  perils.  That  he 
may  have  the  requisite  tonnage  to  ship  his  wheat  he 
must  charter  ships  to  arrive  and  these  charters  have 
ranged  from  sixty-eight  down  to  thirty-two  shillings  per 
ton.  As  the  grain  fields  are  not  irrigated  the  weather 
forms  a  most  important  factor  in  raising  a  crop  and  is 
closely  watched  during  the  rainy  season.  With  the 
November  and  December  rains,  plowing  begins  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  softened  by  moisture.     If  the  rains 


394  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

hold  off  until  after  December  a  fair  or  medium  crop  is 
doubtful,  and  the  ships  will  not  come  unless  chartered 
in  advance.  Plentiful  and  timely  rains,  therefore,  mean 
large  wheat  crops,  and  may  or  may  not  mean  lower 
charters.  If  a  shipper  pays  high  for  charters  and  the 
wheat  market  declines,  he  is  hit  on  both  sides  and  must 
make  heavy  remittances  to  meet  his  bills  in  London. 
A  wheat  cargo  was  usually  carried  by  direct  loan  from 
the  bank  until  the  ship  was  cleared  and  then  bills  of 
exchange  were  drawn  at  sixty  days'  sight  against  the 
shipping  documents  and  sold  on  the  market;  the  banks 
buying  them  forwarded  the  bills  to  their  London  cor- 
respondents and  sold  their  sixty  days'  banker's  bills 
against  them,  the  profit  being  the  difference  between 
the  wheat  bills  and  the  higher  priced  banker's  bills. 
During  the  wheat  growing  period  a  large  business  was 
done  in  gunny  bags  in  which  grain  is  sacked.  These 
are  imported  from  Calcutta  and  ordinarily  cost  about 
eight  cents  apiece.  There  was  a  large  element  of 
speculation  in  this  business  and  the  risk  was  great.  If 
the  wheat  crop  was  large  bags  went  up;  and  if  the  crop 
was  a  failure  the  bags  had  to  be  carried  over  for  another 
year.  As  in  the  case  of  charters,  the  bags  had  to  be 
ordered  in  advance  and  when  it  was  uncertain  what  the 
crops  would  be,  as  there  was  not  sufficient  time  to  order 
and  receive  the  goods  by  sailing  ship  after  the  crops 
were  assured,  and  steamer  freight  was  too  high.  In 
1884  bags  sold  as  low  as  five  and  three-fourths  cents, 
causing  several  importing  houses  to  fail.  They  are 
quoted  now  at  six  and  one-fourth  cents. 

In  1887-8  there  was  a  serious  but  disastrous  attempt 
in  San  Francisco  to  corner  the  wheat  market.     It  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  McNEAR 
Born  at  Wiscasset,  Maine,  March  27,  1S37;  died  at  Oakland, 

Cal.,  December  29,  1909;  came  to  California  in  i860. 
From  1875  to  1903  Mr.  McNear  was  the  chief  exporter  of 

wheat  in  California. 


icrs  and  th< 


A  V  '>y  direct  loan  fror 

the  hen  bi 


s  bv  R 


'^       KJ  C*.  kX 


less  w 


:id  to 


serious  istrous  att 


^^<:^^s*.^ — 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        395 

the  time  of  Boulanger,  the  idol  of  Paris,  the  "man  on 
horseback."  He  was  going  to  give  France  her  revenge 
and  there  was  to  be  a  great  war.  John  W.  Mackay 
of  the  "bonanza"  firm  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
Paris  and  was  intimate  with  Boulanger  and  his  friends. 
The  war  was  certain  to  come,  and  would  be  general; 
Boulanger  was  to  be  the  head  of  France,  and  John 
Mackay  would  have  the  breadstuffs  and  feed  the 
armies.  Returning  to  California  Mackay  induced  James 
C.  Flood  to  join  him  in  the  speculation.  The  deal  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  William  Dresbach,  a  commission 
merchant  having  a  London  connection,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  George  L.  Brander,  vice  president  and 
manager  of  the  Nevada  Bank,  would  honor  Dresbach's 
checks  on  the  bank,  the  two  principals  remaining  in 
the  background.  All  the  wheat  in  tide  water  ware- 
houses was  purchased  as  well  as  all  that  was  afloat, 
and  the  buyers  began  bidding  for  future  delivery.  The 
cargoes  off  coast  were  warehoused  at  Liverpool  or 
ordered  to  Antwerp.  Prices  began  to  mount  under 
this  energetic  procedure  and  as  the  commission  houses 
of  San  Francisco  took  Mr.  Dresbach's  contracts  and 
sold  him  the  grain  for  future  delivery  they  bought  the 
wheat  for  cash  and  held  it  until  time  for  delivery,  there 
being  a  difference  between  the  cash  price  and  the  future 
sufficient  to  pay  a  handsome  profit.  At  last  the  volume 
of  business  grew  so  large,  the  amount  of  wheat  Dresbach 
had  contracted  to  receive  so  great,  that  the  grain  men 
became  uneasy,  and  prices  had  now  risen  until  wheat 
was  quoted  above  two  dollars  per  cental.  Dresbach 
was  a  man  without  credit  and  had  made  two  or  three 
failures.     The  members  of  the  Call  Board  who  had  been 


396  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

accepting  his  contracts  appointed  a  committee  to  see 
Mr.  Flood  and  ascertain  who  was  behind  the  deal.  The 
committee  went  to  the  Nevada  Bank,  saw  Mr.  Flood, 
and  laying  the  matter  before  him  said  that  the  options 
bought  by  Mr.  Dresbach  had  reached  so  large  a  figure 
they  were  unwilling  to  go  on  without  knowing  that 
some  responsible  person  was  behind  him  and  that  pay- 
ments under  the  contracts  would  be  made.  Mr.  Flood 
said:  "You  are  accepting  Mr.  Dresbach's  contracts?" 
"Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  spokesman.  "Well,  you  may 
go  on  taking  Mr.  Dresbach's  contracts,"  said  Flood. 
"Do  you  mean  that,  Mr.  Flood .^"  said  the  chairman 
of  the  committee.  "Yes,  sir!  I  do,"  was  Flood's  reply. 
The  committee  returned  and  reported  the  conversation. 
The  grain  men  were  satisfied  and  the  business  went  on 
merrily  until  one  day  Dresbach  refused  to  take  delivery 
of  wheat  and  made  an  assignment.  Mackay  and  Flood 
had  put  in  all  the  ready  cash  they  had,  the  bank  vaults 
were  cleaned  out,  and  it  was  said  that  the  bank  had, 
for  some  time,  been  buying  telegraphic  exchange  on 
London  and  paying  for  it  with  sixty  day  bills,  and 
meeting  these  bills  by  drawing  others.  When  the  San 
Francisco  banks  refused  to  buy  the  Nevada  bank's 
bills  any  longer  they  were  sold  in  New  York,  and  when 
New  York  refused  to  take  them,  the  end  was  come, 
and  Dresbach  threw  up  his  hands.  The  effect  was 
tremendous.  Mackay,  who  was  abroad  at  the  time 
hurried  to  San  Francisco  and  both  he  and  Flood  pro- 
fessed the  greatest  indignation  that  their  trusted  em- 
ployee should  have  so  betrayed  their  confidence  and 
they  denounced  him  on  all  sides.  He  had,  they  said, 
taken  advantage  of  Mackay's  absence  in  Europe  and 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        397 

Flood's  illness  at  Menlo  Park  to  loan  enormous  sums 
to  Dresbach — a  man  to  whom  they  gave  no  credit 
whatever— and  had  involved  them  in  great  losses. 
Dresbach  said  nothing.  Brander  was  summarily  dis- 
missed from  his  position  and  he  retired  without  a  word 
for  himself  or  any  explanation  to  the  public.  It  is  said 
that  he  received  ^100,000  cash,  for  acting  as  scape-goat 
— Mackay  not  caring  to  appear  among  his  New  York, 
London,  and  Paris  friends  as  having  engaged  in  so 
foolish  an  adventure.  Brander  bought  a  controlling 
interest  in  a  California  fire  insurance  company  which 
failed  a  year  or  so  later  and  he  disappeared  from  public 
view.  The  bank's  capital  and  surplus  were  gone,  and 
James  G.  Fair,  the  third  and  only  other  living  member 
of  the  bonanza  firm,  who  had  withdrawn  from  the  con- 
cern several  years  before,  put  ^1,000,000  into  the  bank 
to  keep  its  doors  open,  taking  the  presidency  until  his 
loan  was  returned.  After  an  ineffectual  attempt  to 
reorganize  the  bank  under  J.  F.  Houghton  as  president 
and  N.  K.  Masten  as  cashier,  the  concern  was  turned 
over  to  Isaias  W.  Hellman,  of  Los  Angeles,  who  placed 
the  stock  among  his  friends  and  raised  a  new  capital; 
since  then  it  has  conducted  a  large  and  successful 
business.  The  loss  by  this  wheat  deal  was  about 
$16,000,000.  It  broke  Flood's  heart  and  he  died  not 
long  after. 

The  climate  and  soil  of  California  favor  farming  on  a 
large  scale  and  California  ingenuity  was  brought  to  bear 
on  the  invention  of  labor-saving  implements.  In  the 
great  valleys  there  is  no  sod,  or  shrub,  or  stone  to  ob- 
struct the  farmer,  but  the  soil  is  light,  the  surface  clear, 
and  the  multiple  gang  plows  scratch  the  ground  at  one- 


398  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

third  the  ordinary  cost  of  plowing;  while  the  combined 
harvester,  drawn  by  ten  or  twelve  horses,  goes  through 
the  ripe  grain  fields  and  leaves  in  its  wake  sacks  of  grain 
ready  for  shipment.  But  faulty  farming  methods — the 
taking  of  a  "volunteer"  crop,  non- rotation  of  crops,  and 
the  like — soon  impoverished  the  land  and  the  average 
production  gradually  fell  from  sixty  bushels  to  eleven 
and  even  as  low  as  nine  bushels  to  the  acre;  wheat  rais- 
ing became  unprofitable  and  the  great  ranchos  began 
to  be  cut  up  into  small  tracts  for  fruit  growing,  much 
to  the  advantage  of  the  state. 

The  necessities  a  great  congregation  of  people  sud- 
denly thrown  together  in  a  hitherto  desolate  quarter  of 
the  globe  were  pressing,  particularly  those  upon  whom 
devolved  the  receiving,  handling,  and  distribution  of 
the  enormous  quantities  of  merchandise,  and  goods 
of  every  description  that  poured  into  California  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  So  sudden  was  the  develop- 
ment of  commerce  that  the  resources  of  the  port  of 
San  Francisco  were  greatly  overtaxed.  There  were 
no  wharves,  no  warehouses,  and  the  seven  hundred 
ships  that  came  in  1849  were  loaded  with  everything 
conceivable  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  people  and  to 
supply  implements  for  the  novel  enterprise  upon 
which  they  had  entered.  The  utmost  exertions  of 
consignees  failed  in  many  instances  to  provide  quick 
discharge  of  ships  and  proper  shelter  for  the  goods. 
Warehouses  were  hastily  thrown  up  but  many  cargoes 
were  warehoused  on  the  open  beach  until  they  could 
be  forwarded  to  the  mines.  With  the  market  over- 
stocked with  merchandise,  prices  fell,  and  many  cargoes 
were  sold  at  auction  at  a  ruinous  sacrifice,  to  meet  the 


ANDREW  J.  POPE 
Born  at  East  Machias,  Maine,  February  6,  1820;  died  at 
San  Francisco,  California,  December  18,  1878;  came  to  Cali- 
fornia Djecember  28,  1849,  as  representative  of  the  lumber 
firms  of  William  Pope  and  Sons  of  Boston  and  S.  W.  Pope  and 
Company  of  East  jNIachias,  and  bringing  with  him  a  shipment 
of  lumber  which  he  disposed  of  at  large  profit.  He  soon 
engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account  and  bought  lands 
which  became  immensely  valuable.  Later  on  he  entered 
into  business  relations  with  his  brother-in-law  William  C. 
Talbot,  forming  the  firm  of  Pope  and  Talbot  which  grew 
to  be  a  large  exporter  of  lumber  to  domestic  and  foreign  ports. 
Mr.  Pope  accumulated  a  large  fortune,  took  part  in  many 
enterprises  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bank  of 
California.  He  was  noted  for  his  benevolence  and  public 
spirit. 


HISTORY  <  ORNIA 

Uxird  the  ordinary  cosi  ^  '   le  the  combined 

harvester,  drawn  ^'^'  ^-^^  ..^cs,  goes  through 

the  ripe  grain  fiel  wake  sacks  of  grain 

ready  for  ship  t  faulty  fanning  methods — the 

taking  of  r  .,  non-rotation  of  crops,  and 

the  lik:  the  land  and  the  average 

nrodti  >m  sixty  bushels  to  eleven 

ushels  to  the  acre;  wheat  rais- 
ing DC  /M^^h^  great  ranches  began 

.e^ii^»ii¥iat,£gfiQaving,  muc^ 

,jple  sud- 

-  i   ; , ; snj:  . f iirirfcx»  J  f  ifies^fiieqfcejquarter  c 

''"  >n  whom 
.,,rt^/.>ution  of 
■^^md  goods 
'^ .',',',.  [.[  .  nia  froi- 

jXeism  nr;rieqjp(9oAV9J'fP?3P}  a-gr^ifK^siiisitmioov.sq&'^LisiM.  dcvclop- 

]i>   ;.I;!!;cI   iui;   Tj    :<'io.vi!ii.i."'t)   sil;    1o   a/io   zr.//   Liu:-  zstbaTiJfia,-    ■nrsrt    r\f 

,,  ,   re  were 
iio  wharv  ndred 

shi  erythii!, 

:  and  to 
...ciito    IK.-:  .. |.i.se    upon 

ad  entere.  exertions  of 

consignees  failed  in  many  instances  to  provide  quick 
discharge  of  ships  and  proper  shelter  for  the  good 
'      .<„,..„        n  but  many  cargoes 
._..  .„.^..  h  until  they  could 

/arded  to  i  the  market  ove 

:  with  merchandise,  prices  fell,  and  many  cargo 
it  auction  'nous  sacrifice,  to  meet  t; 


i 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        399 

ship-master's  demand  for  freight  money,  and  other 
cargoes  were  left  to  rot  in  the  ships.  With  the  American 
genius  for  organization,  a  Chamber  of  Commerce  was 
formed  in  1850  to  provide  machinery  for  settHng  dis- 
putes, arranging  for  payment  of  foreign  bills  of  lading, 
and  all  the  multitudinous  details  of  a  great  shipping 
port.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San  Francisco 
was,  we  understand,  the  second  body  of  the  kind  organ- 
ized in  the  United  States,  the  first  being  in  Baltimore. 
The  Chamber  has  ever  been  active  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  the  improving,  lighting,  and  defense  of  the 
port,  and  it  is  today,  after  sixty-four  years'  service,  one 
of  the  most  efficient  and  powerful  commercial  bodies 
in  the  United  States  and  has  an  active  membership 
of  more  than  twenty-seven  hundred. 

During  the  first  few  years  following  the  discovery  of 
gold,  California  imported  almost  everything  used — even 
lumber,  although  American  enterprise  soon  changed 
this  condition,  and  the  value  of  the  redwood,  the 
sugar-pine  of  the  high  sierra,  the  red  fir,  and  the 
yellow  pine  were  recognized,  and  such  great  lumber 
firms  and  groups  as  Hanson  and  Company,  A.  M. 
Simpson,  Edwards  Williams,  J.  G.  Jackson,  Pope  and 
Talbot,  Renton,  Holmes  and  Company,  and  the 
Hoopers  became  great  manufacturers  and  exporters 
of  forest  products.  Chile  was  the  chief  source  of 
supply  for  flour,  the  Hawaiian  Islands  for  sugar  and 
potatoes,  China  for  rice  and  tea,  and  Mexico  and  the 
Latin  republics  to  the  south  furnished  coffee,  tobacco, 
€tc.  Up  to  i860  California  exports  consisted  largely 
of  treasure  but  after  that  year  the  products  of  the  soil 
came  rapidly  to  the  front  and  took  the  lead,  while 


400  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  export  of  gold  and  silver  gradually  declined  until 
beyond  the  shipment  of  a  few  millions  of  silver  to 
China  and  Japan  it  has  ceased  entirely.  The  exports 
are  greatly  in  excess  of  the  imports  today  and  the 
custom  house  figures  show  the  exports  by  sea  for  19 13 
to  be  ^122,485,435,  to  which  must  be  added  $70,000,000 
for  shipments  by  rail,  making  a  total  of  $192,485,435 
of  fruits,  vegetables,  wines  and  brandies.  The  imports 
for  the  same  period  were  $62,650,298,  leaving  a  balance 
in  favor  of  California  of  $129,835,137. 

The  total  value  of  California's  production  for  1913, 
including  manufactures,  was  $1,110,000,000,  and  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  real  and  personal  property  of 
the  state  on  the  first  of  March,  1914,  was  $3,232,646,152. 
The  assessment  is  levied  on  a  basis  of  two-thirds  value 
which  would  make  an  actual  value  of  $4,309,881,536. 

It  is  reported,  at  this  present  writing,  October  31, 
1914,  that  California  has  shipped  to  New  York,  via  the 
Panama  Canal,  during  the  month  of  October,  products 
amounting  to  over  $5,000,000,  consisting  mainly  of 
canned  and  dried  fruits,  salmon,  barley,  beans,  wine, 
and  lumber. 

Under  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  rule,  goods  and 
merchandise  for  the  interior  were  carried  by  pack  train; 
a  carga — load  for  a  mule — was  275  pounds.  Forty-five 
mules  constituted  a  pack  train  under  command  of  a 
cargador,  or  pack  master,  assisted  by  a  number  of 
muleteros.  The  Americans  used  the  interior  water 
ways  wherever  practicable,  constructed  roads  and  built 
great  freight  wagons  which  were  drawn  by  many  horses 
or  mules.  In  crossing  the  Sierra  Nevada  the  wagons 
used  were  made  very  large  and  strong;  a  smaller  wagon 


WILLIAM  CHALONER  TALBOT 
Born  at  East  Machias,  Maine,  February  28,  1816;  died  at 
Astoria,  Oregon,  August  6,  1881;  began  business  with  his 
father  and  brother  under  the  firm  name  of  Peter  Talbot  and 
Sons  engaged  in  lumber  and  shipping;  came  to  California 
March  12,  1850,  in  schooner  Oriental  with  a  cargo  of  lumber, 
and  for  a  time  engaged  in  coast  trade,  South  America  and 
Hawaiian  Islands  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  C.  Talbot  & 
Co.  Established  a  saw  mill  at  Port  Gamble,  Washington, 
and  with  his  brother-in-law,  Andrew  J.  Pope,  formed  the  firm 
of  Pope  and  Talbot. 


.ire   t<r 


"S  and  ports 

aviim  a  ba 
tB  moor 

'.:itr!  losWA 

/^  and  t! 
eiief  property  of 


Octobt 

ia  the 


Forty-ft 
amand 
a  numl 


^^-^.  ^^^^^.^^ 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        401 

called  a  "back  action,"  and  sometimes  two  of  them, 
was  attached  to  the  first  and  to  this  train  was  usually 
harnessed  sixteen  horses  or  mules — frequently  using 
both  horses  and  mules  in  the  same  team — and  the  out- 
fit would  carry  from  ten  to  fifteen  tons  of  freight.  A 
freight  team  is  driven  by  a  single  rein  attached  to  the 
inside  bit  of  the  off  leader  and  the  driver  rides  the  off 
wheel  horse;  the  brake  strap  or  rope  passes  across  his 
right  leg  and  is  attached  to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle; 
his  left  hand  holds  the  rein  while  his  right  hand  manages 
the  brake  strap  and  slung  to  his  wrist  is  his  whip,  a 
powerful  quirt  or  bull  whip,  which  he  cracks  with  the 
sound  of  a  musket  shot.  The  leading  span  is  turned 
to  right  or  left  by  a  pull  or  a  jerk  on  the  rein.  These 
drivers  are  most  skilful  in  the  management  of  their 
teams  and  as  expert  in  their  way  as  the  stage  drivers 
in  theirs.  Bells  are  usually  attached  to  the  horses  and 
their  music  in  the  mountains  is  heard  afar  and  gives 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  freighter.  On  the  opening 
of  the  Bodie  mines  in  the  early  seventies  a  "fast  freight" 
line  was  put  on  the  road  from  Carson  City,  Nevada,  to 
Bodie,  California,  about  one  hundred  miles  to  the 
southeast.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  finest  freight  line 
ever  established  by  wagon  road.  The  leading  wagon 
was  very  large  and  there  were  three  "back  actions," 
all  built  in  the  best  fashion  and  unusually  large. 
Attached  to  them  were  twenty  horses  and  mules 
equipped  with  the  finest  harness,  and  from  the  hames  of 
every  other  pair  in  the  team  high  wooden  projections 
carried  lanterns:  for  the  team  traveled  night  and  day 
without  stop  except  to  change  horses  or  to  load  or 
unload  freight.     Each  team  carried  a  crew  of  four  me  n 


402  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  driver  mounted  on  the  off  wheeler,  one  man  at 
the  brakes,  and  one  on  either  side  of  the  team  to 
encourage  the  horses  and  keep  them  up  to  the  rate 
of  speed  desired.  The  pockets  of  the  runners  were 
filled  with  small  stones  and  any  horse  or  mule  soldiering 
on  the  job  felt  the  sharp  pelt  of  a  stone  awakening  him 
to  a  realizing  sense  of  duty.  Each  outfit  cost  from 
$5,000  to  $7,000,  carried  from  fifteen  to  twenty  tons 
of  freight,  and  traveled  at  a  fast  walk,  making  from 
three  to  four  miles  an  hour.  They  left  Carson  every 
other  day  and  it  was  a  great  sight  to  see  one  of  these 
magnificent  trains  start  out  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  with  lamps  alight  and  runners  shouting  to 
the  horses. 

The  railroads  put  these  picturesque  freighters  out  of 
business  and  the  jerk-rein  artist  followed  his  confrere, 
the  stage  driver,  into  unmerited  obscurity.  After  com- 
pleting the  road  to  Ogden  the  Central  Pacific  group  of 
railroad  builders  began  extending  their  operations  in 
conformity  with  their  adopted  plan  to  monopolize  trans- 
portation in  California.  In  1865  the  Southern  Pacific 
railroad  company  was  organized  ostensibly  to  build  a 
road  from  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  through  the  coast 
counties  to  San  Diego,  thence  to  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  state  to  connect  with  a  road  from  the  Mississippi 
river.  In  July,  1866,  congress  granted  a  charter  to 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  railroad  company  to  build  a 
road  from  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  Albuquerque,  New 
Mexico,  thence  by  the  thirty-fifth  parallel  to  the 
Pacific,  giving  the  same  amount  of  land  per  mile  as 
the  grant  to  the  Central  Pacific,  and  authorizing  it  to 
connect  with  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  of  California 


CYRUS  WALKER 
Born  at  Madison,  Maine,  October  6,  1827;  died  at  San 
Mateo,  California,  October  i,  1913;  came  to  California  in 
1853  and  joined  Captain  William  C.  Talbot  in  establishing 
lumber  mills.  He  was  closely  associated  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  lumber  business  and  in  1861  became  general 
manager  and  later  was  admitted  to  partnership  in  the  Puget 
Mill  Company.  Under  his  administration  the  business  was 
successfully  developed. 


402  )¥  CALIFOi 


-  mounted  ov  T  wheeler,  one  man  at 

r  side  of  the 
ad  keep  them  ur 
^i  '    ts  of  the  :. 

tiL^...  ^  horse  or  ni_ ng 

on  the  jo'  >  pelt  of  a  stone  awakening  him 

duty.     Each  outfit  cost  from 
;d5,ooo  t(  '  ^-om  fifteen  to  twenty  tons 

of  *'--'  ^^  -^  fast  walk,  making  from 

tl  They  left  Carson  every 

other  day  and  it  great  sight  to  see  or;  c 

at  train^g^^^^^^^f^ijl^out  seven  o'clock  in  the 
Moj^'ii^^feL^iftdibmiW^ashout-;"'-   • 

mcse  .  ..ers  out  -^y 

tsnag  3«i^dtil«i  jjgl'kiTd"(ii6hia/Htib^xnbDldj(Ii^^(e(Jndais  COnfrerC, 

ater  com- 

'  group  of 

rations  in 

opolize  trans- 


counties  V 

of  the  state  to  a  lississippi 

"n  July,   ii>o6,  congress  graated  a  charter  to 

tic  and  Pacific  railroad  company  to  build  a 

1  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  Albuquerque,  New 

thence   by  thirty-fifth    parallel   to  the 

iving  the  same  amount  of  land  per  mile  as 

to  the  Central  Pacific,  and  authorizing  it  to 

ith  flip  Souihern  Pacific  railroad  of  California 


^^/2,.^^<?^^^.f:^'=ei'6 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        403 

at  such  point  near  the  eastern  boundary  of  that  state 
as  the  two  companies  might  determine,  and  the  act 
provided  that  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  company 
should  receive  the  same  amount  of  land  per  mile  as  that 
given  to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  The  charter  was  given 
the  Southern  Pacific  on  the  supposition  that  it  would 
open  up  the  coast  counties  containing  some  of  the  richest 
agricultural  lands  in  the  state,  and  furnish  rapid  trans- 
portation for  the  semi-tropical  fruits  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia; but  in  1867  it  filed  a  map  with  the  secretary  of 
the  interior  changing  its  route  from  the  coast  counties 
through  the  Pacheco  pass  into  the  valley  of  the  San 
Joaquin  and  thence  to  the  Colorado  river  near  Fort 
Mojave.  On  objection  being  made  the  land  grant  was 
canceled,  but  in  1870  it  was  restored  to  the  company  to 
conform  to  the  line  shown  by  the  map  of  1867.*  The 
company  purchased  the  San  Francisco  and  the  San 
Jose  line  and  extended  it  to  Tres  Pinos  in  San  Benito 
county,  where  it  now  stops.  The  company  then  con- 
cluded to  build  its  road  up  the  Salinas  valley,  but  it 
was  not  until  1901  that  its  line  was  joined  to  that  of 
the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Meanwhile  the  Central  Pacific 
extended  its  line  south  to  Visalia  and  north  to  Portland, 
and  it  began  to  be  rumored  that  the  Central  was  to  be 
consolidated  with  the  Southern  Pacific,  but  this  was 
stoutly  denied  by  both  companies.     From  the  east  two 

*The  change  of  route  and  the  regranting  of  lands  to  the  company  were  the  cause 
of  serious  riots  in  Tulare  county  between  the  original  settlers  and  the  purchasers 
of  the  railroad  title,  in  which  a  number  of  houses  were  burned  and  several  men 
killed.  The  settlers  offered  to  pay  the  railroad  company  ^2.50  per  acre  for  the 
land  but  denied  the  company's  right  to  the  canals,  ditches,  etc.,  which  they  had 
constructed,  or  to  require  payment  from  them  therefor.  The  United  States 
circuit  court  decided  that  the  grant  to  the  railroad  was  valid  and  the  marshal 
evicted  those  settlers  who  were  on  railroad  land.  The  affair  created  great  excite- 
ment and  the  railroad  company  was  severely  blamed  for  its  course  in  the  matter. 


404  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

lines  were  approaching  California:  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacliic,  already  mentioned,  and  the  Texas  Pacific, 
building  from  New  Orleans  with  the  avowed  intention 
of  reaching  San  Diego.  The  Southern  Pacific  directors 
determined  that  neither  of  these  lines  should  enter 
California.  From  Goshen  where  it  took  up  the  line  of 
the  Central  Pacific  it  pushed  with  all  speed  to  Yuma 
on  the  Colorado  to  head  off  the  Texas  Pacific  and  thence 
on,  across  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  to  El  Paso  on  the 
Rio  Grande.  The  Texas  Pacific,  involved  in  difficulties 
in  1873,  was  unable  to  raise  money  to  complete  its  line 
to  California  and  applied  to  congress  for  a  subsidy. 
In  this  they  were  defeated  through  the  efforts  of 
Huntington,  who  offered  to  build  east  of  the  Colorado 
without  even  a  land  grant,  and  the  Southern  Pacific 
met  the  Texas  Pacific  at  Sierra  Blanca,  a  few  miles  east 
of  El  Paso.  The  road  was  opened  to  New  Orleans  in 
1883  through  its  connection  with  the  Texas  and  New 
Orleans  railroad  at  Houston,  Texas.  The  Atlantic  and 
Pacific,  which  was  also  crippled  by  the  panic  of  1873, 
formed  a  combination  with  the  Atchison,  Topeka, 
and  Santa  Fe  company  and  built  to  the  Colorado 
river  at  the  Needles,  intending  to  carry  their  road 
thence  to  Los  Angeles  and  to  San  Francisco.  They 
were  stopped,  however,  at  the  Colorado  by  the  South- 
ern Pacific  which  had  built  from  Mojave,  on  their 
San  Joaquin  valley  line,  to  the  Needles,  242  miles  across 
the  Mojave  desert.  This  line  was  later  leased  to  the 
Santa  Fe  line — under  a  proper  traffic  agreement — and 
said  company  was  also  permitted  to  purchase  the  Cali- 
fornia Southern  railroad,  a  road  from  San  Diego  to 
Los  Angeles,  thence  to  San  Bernardino,  and  to  Barstow, 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        405 

on  the  Mojave-Needles  line.  The  Santa  Fe  company 
later  obtained  an  entrance  to  San  Francisco  by  pur- 
chasing the  San  Francisco  and  San  Joaquin  valley  road 
— San  Francisco  to  Bakersfield — a  road  organized  in 
1895  with  the  purpose  of  obtaining  for  the  people  relief 
from  the  intolerable  oppression  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 
The  stock  of  this  road  had  been  placed  largely  among 
the  farmers  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  the  trust 
agreement  under  which  the  road  was  to  be  built  and 
operated  contained  the  provision  that  the  property  was 
"not  to  be  leased  or  consolidated  with  any  company 
which  may  own,  control,  manage,  or  operate  any  of  the 
roads  now  existing  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and 
the  trustees  shall  not,  nor  shall  their  successors,  have 
any  power  as  shareholders  to  assent  to  any  such  control 
or  lease,  or  in  any  way  to  put  the  said  road  under  the 
same  management  as  that  of  any  other  railroad  now 
existing  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley."  The  simple  minded 
farmers  having  on  April  5,  1895,  given  their  assent  to 
this  agreement,  the  trustees  promptly  sold  the  road  to 
the  Santa  Fe,  which  company,  not  owning  or  controlling 
any  road  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  was  clearly  outside 
the  prohibition  of  the  trust  agreement.  Thus  ended  the 
hopes  for  an  opposition  road.  It  was  said,  in  expla- 
nation, that  the  road  could  not  be  made  to  pay,  but  we 
do  not  see  how  that  could  have  been  determined  at  that 
time  as  the  road  was  virtually  sold  before  construction 
was  begun.  The  chief  subscriber,  Claus  Spreckels,  a 
sugar  manufacturer  of  many  millions  capital,  thought 
it  a  good  time  to  sell,  and  sold  it  was.  In  1884  the 
Southern  Pacific  company  was  incorporated  by  special 
charter  from  the  state  of  Kentucky  and  this  company 


406  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

operates  by  reason  of  stock  ownership  or  under  lease 
all  the  various  railroad  and  steamship  lines  owned  by 
the  Central  Pacific  and  Southern  Pacific  railroad  com- 
panies, or  operated  by  them,  thus  bringing  all  under 
one  head  and  one  control.  The  little  group  of  Sacra- 
mento merchants  had  become  great  and  when  one  of 
them  traveled  his  journey  was  like  a  royal  progress. 
So  powerful  and  arrogant  did  they  become  that  they 
disputed  the  authority  of  and  denied  their  obligations 
to  the  United  States  government,  on  the  theory  that 
as  the  benefit  the  government  derived  from  the  building 
of  the  first  overland  road  had  been  so  great,  in  equity 
they  owed  it  nothing;  besides,  for  the  seventeen  years 
the  roads  had  been  running,  the  sum  credited  the  Union 
and  Central  Pacific  roads  by  the  government  for  freight, 
supplies,  mails,  munitions  of  war,  troops,  and  passengers 
amounted  to  ^21,000,000,  while  the  charges  on  the  same 
by  team  and  coach  would  have  been  ^160,000,000 — a 
saving  to  the  government  therefore,  of  ^139,000,000, 
which  after  deducting  amount  of  bonds  and  interest, 
would  leave  a  balance  in  favor  of  the  railroads  of 
$52,000,000.  They  claimed  that  the  subsidies  were 
granted  on  the  understanding  that  they  should  build 
a  road  to  be  owned  and  managed  by  themselves,  for 
the  individual  profit  of  the  stockholders,  and  that  there 
was  nothing  in  the  language  of  the  statutes  that  would 
fairly  admit  of  any  other  construction.  They  refused 
to  pay  their  just  proportion  of  taxes  in  the  state,  and 
they  used  their  power  to  control  elections  and  secure 
such  men  for  public  office  as  would  be  pliable.  They 
treated  the  people  with  contempt,  refused  to  act  as 
common  carriers,  discriminated  in  freights,  and  man- 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        407 

aged  to  extract  from  the  farmers  and  merchants  all  that 
the  traffic  would  bear;*  and  when  the  citizens  com- 
plained of  excessive  charges,  it  was  pointed  out  to 
them  that  they  were  having  their  goods  and  them- 
selves carried  in  one-fourth  the  time  formerly  consumed 
and  at  one-fourth  the  expense,  and  that  their  property 
was  greatly  enhanced  in  value.  Through  ownership 
of  a  majority  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
steamship  company  they  were  enabled  to  make  such 
rates  on  water  freights  as  would  not  interfere  with 
their  railroad  tariff,  and  by  an  arrangement  with 
owners  in  the  east  they  were  enabled  to  prevent  any 
serious  competition  on  the  part  of  sailing  ships.  It  is 
said  that  so  high  did  the  rates  become  that  shippers 
could  save  four  dollars  a  ton  on  freights  from  New 
York  to  San  Francisco  by  shipping  their  goods  to 
Europe  and  having  them  re-shipped  thence  to  San 
Francisco.  This  practice  the  railroad  complained  of 
as  an  evasion  of  the  coastwise  shipping  act  and  it 
had  to  be  stopped.  The  sinister  influence  of  the 
railroad  was  over  all.  It  controlled  judges;  it  owned 
legislatures;  it  invaded  the  halls  of  congress  and 
sought  to  undermine  the  very  foundations  of  govern- 
ment and  society.  In  California  it  was  supreme;  and 
as  the  vapor  which  the  fisherman  released  from  the  jar 
grew  and  overspread  the  heavens  and  became  an  Afrit 
of  most  appalling  proportions  and  threatening  aspect, 
so  this  creature,  generated  and  nourished  by  the  people, 
grew  and  became  so  powerful  that  it  pervaded   all, 


*The  charge  on  a  car  of  freight  from  Chicago  to  San  Francisco  was  ^300;  from 
Chicago  to  Winnemucca  it  was  ^700,  though  Winnemucca  was  327  miles  east  of 
San  Francisco. 


408  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

crushed  all  opposition,  and  laid  a  heavy  hand  upon  the 
industry  of  the  state.  But  relief  was  at  hand  and 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  appointed  in 
1887  under  an  act  of  congress,  lent  a  sympathetic  ear  to 
the  cry  that  went  up  from  the  farmers,  manufacturers, 
and  merchants.  Retribution,  also  was  threatened.  The 
builders  of  the  railroads  had  become  greatly  extended. 
The  length  of  their  whole  system  of  roads  aggregated 
more  than  9,000  miles;  they  owned  or  controlled  more 
than  forty  railroad  corporations,  besides  coal  mines, 
express  companies,  street  railways,  hotels  and  town- 
sites.  Over  all  their  property  was  an  enormous  accu- 
mulation of  indebtedness,  and  in  addition,  they  had  for 
years  been  the  largest  borrowers  in  California  at  gradu- 
ally increasing  rates  of  interest,  and  were  now  required 
by  the  banks  to  give  their  personal  guarantees  to  the 
paper  in  addition  to  their  collaterals.  They  were 
approaching  one  of  those  recurring  periods  of  liquida- 
tion called  panics.  They  were  confronted  with  a  very 
real  peril  in  the  maturing  of  the  government's  claim  of 
^55,000,000  for  construction  aid  bonds,  and  they  found 
themselves  in  1893  on  very  thin  ice.  They  were  in  need 
of  money  and  in  large  amounts  for  the  payment  of  bond 
interest  and  other  necessities.  Money  had  flowed  in 
upon  them  so  fast  and  in  such  great  quantities  that 
they  had  not  realized  the  danger  of  too  great  expansion. 
The  talk  of  abandoning  the  Central  Pacific  to  the  gov- 
ernment, which  was  somewhat  indulged  in,  was  futile, 
as  such  a  course  meant  financial  death.  Their  wealth 
was  largely  in  their  own  securities  and  anything  that 
affected  the  one  affected  the  other.  A  friend  was  found, 
oversea,  who  would  accept  their  securities   and  lend 


ASA  M.  SIMPSON 

Born  at  Brunswick,  Maine,  February  20,  1825;  died  at 
San  Francisco,  January  10,  191 5;  came  to  California  early  in 
1850  in  the  ship  Berniingham  with  a  cargo  of  lumber  which 
he  and  some  fellow  townsmen  had  loaded  on  a  venture,  and 
which  was  sold  at  a  large  profit.  Captain  Simpson  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  ship-building  business,  in  which  both  his 
father  and  his  grandfather  had  been  engaged,  but  the  success 
of  his  trading  enterprise  caused  him  to  enter  the  lumber 
business  and  this  he  followed  the  rest  of  his  life.  In  1850  he 
established  in  San  Francisco  the  Simpson  Lumber  Company, 
which  is  still  doing  business.  His  first  yard  was  at  Market 
and  Beale  streets,  and  he  shortly  after  extended  his  business 
to  Sacramento  and  Stockton.  In  1852  he  built  the  first  steam 
saw  mill  at  Astoria,  Oregon,  and  a  few  years  later  built  mills 
at  Umpqua  and  at  North  Bend  in  the  same  state.  At  the 
latter  place  he  became  interested  in  a  shipyard  from  which 
over  sixty  sailing  vessels  have  been  launched.  He  also  built 
mills  at  Soquel,  Crescent  City,  and  Port  Oxford,  California, 
and  at  Knappton,  Hoquiam,  and  South  Bend  in  Washington. 
He  was  also  largely  interested  in  shipping  and  at  one  time, 
besides  the  operation  of  ten  lumber  mills,  he  owned  and 
operated  fifty  sailing  vessels,  shipping  large  quantities  of 
lumber  and  coal  to  Pacific  ports.  As  a  citizen  and  a  business 
man  Captain  Simpson's  standing  was  of  the  highest  and 
he  has  ever  been  considered  a  representative  man  of  the  lumber 
and  shipping  interests. 


HT^"rnT.>\ 


crushed  all  oppos 
industr 

the   IiiL. 

1887  under  an 
the  cry  that  Vv 
and  merch 
builders  c 
Th^J(g;}gu^^,  . 

nDtriw  -lodmm 

thafe"4eiptnravr£ 

n3^n  hzd' nozQ' 


hand  upon  t; 

ed   in 

i  sympathetic  ear  to 

he  farmers,  manufacturers, 

'  >p  was  threatened.   The 

come  greatly  extended. 

^•M  m4k  aggregated 

.  ogipni^Tf^folled  more 

'  ■3;lj  III  0j8l      , 

o?.iiafe  ^aDal  mmes, 

"^'^^"  nd  town- 

>us  accu- 

-if  a($(^gpaaig6fhey  had  for 

JiOBniwi  at  gradu- 

■'^  S?§vv  required 

'mees  to  the 

-qui  J    JE 

iig.  ISM cThey  wei 

Jxie  Tpvo    |.  ,.        .J 

-  M)a&nOi  hquid: 

'  ''  ^""^  "th  a  very 
1  *        <■ 


too  naad  isva'aflxl  srf 


>:  and  otiier 


s  that 


thev  had 


i  the  danger  of  too  great  expansioi 
doning  the  Central  Pacific  to  the  go\ 
somewhat  indulged  in,  was  futile, 

sucn  a  coui>;c  intrant  financial  deatb      T'l.^.'r  wealth 

l;iraelv  \n  their  own  securities  ar  g  that 

le  affected  the  oth  friend  was  founo, 

>uld  accept  their  securities  and  lend 


Cc^  /^^6i^f^^'r^^<t''ez^'^^ 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        409 

them  money.  The  crisis  was  passed,  and  the  govern- 
ment, not  disposed  to  drastic  measures,  consented  to 
a  liquidation  of  its  claim  extending  over  a  period  of 
ten  years. 

With  the  death  of  Collis  P.  Huntington  in  1900  the 
last  of  the  group  of  railroad  builders  passed  away  and 
the  great  system  came  into  the  hands  of  Edward  H. 
Harriman,  a  constructive  railroad  manager  of  great 
ability,  who  at  once  proceeded  to  put  the  physical 
properties  in  first  class  condition  and  to  cultivate  the 
friendship  of  the  producers  and  merchants  of  California. 
In  1909  the  Western  Pacific  Railway  company,  the 
second  company  in  California  to  bear  that  name, 
opened  its  line  for  business.  This  is  a  transcontinental 
line  from  San  Francisco  to  Salt  Lake  City,  crossing 
the  Sierra  Nevada  by  the  Beckwith  pass  and  connecting 
at  Salt  Lake  City  with  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande 
road. 

During  the  early  gold  period  the  foreign  and  Atlantic 
coast  freight  was  mainly  carried  by  sailing  ships.  The 
Pacific  Mail  steamers  began  to  arrive  early  in  1849  and 
by  1853  eighteen  ocean  steamers  engaged  in  the  Cal- 
fornia  trade — most  of  them  being  coasters.  In  1852 
the  Nicaragua  line  opened  with  four  steamers  and  con- 
tinued for  several  years  until  cut  off  by  the  war  of  the 
filibusters.  In  1861  HoUaday  and  Flint  established  a 
regular  service  between  San  Francisco  and  Mexican 
ports,  and  in  1867  the  Pacific  Mail  opened  the  China 
trade  with  the  side-wheeler  Colorado,  3,728  tons  sailing 
from  San  Francisco  for  Hong  Kong  January  ist  with 
one  thousand  barrels  of  flour  and  ^560,000  in  specie. 
The  Colorado  was  followed  by  the  Great  Republic  and 


410  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  China.  In  1874  the  Occidental  and  Oriental  Steam- 
ship company  was  organized  by  the  Central  Pacific 
railroad  company  and  four  steamers  of  4,350  tons  each 
were  put  on  the  China  route.  This  line  was  discon- 
tinued in  1908.  In  1899  the  Toyo  Kisen  Kaisha,  a 
Japanese  line,  put  on  three  steamers,  each  of  6,000  gross 
tonnage,  to  run  between  Hong  Kong,  Yokohama,  and 
San  Francisco  on  joint  schedule  with  the  Pacific  Mail, 
and  these  ships  were  followed  in  1 908-1 1  by  the  Tenyo 
Maru,  Chiyo  Maru  and  Shinyo  Maru,  ships  of  13,400 
gross  tonnage  each.  The  Pacific  Mail  is  now  operating 
on  its  trans-Pacific  line  the  Mongolia  and  the  Manchuria 
each  13,639  gross  tonnage,  the  Korea  11,279  tons, 
Siberia  11,284  tons,  and  China,  Persia,  and  Nile,  from 
4,356  to  5,888  tons.  On  its  Panama  line  it  has  eight 
steamships  amounting  to  23,820  gross  tonnage.  The 
Dollar  line  has  five  steamships  on  the  trans-Pacific  line 
of  4.079j  3*679.  3.582,  2,715,  and  2,006  net  tonnage. 

Large  and  beautiful  steamers  connect  San  Francisco 
with  Honolulu,  the  South  Sea  Islands,  New  Zealand, 
and  Australia;  with  the  cities  of  the  north  and  the 
coasts  of  Alaska,  and  with  the  southern  ports  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Mexico.  The  Kosmos  line  connects  San 
Francisco  with  Hamburg,  via  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
touching  at  various  ports  of  Mexico  and  South  America, 
with  a  freight  movement  of  100,000  tons  each  way. 

The  total  tonnage  movement  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco  for  the  year  19 13  was: 

ARRIVALS 
STEAM  TONS         SAIL  TONS  TOTAL 

Foreign  ports 2,254,383  427,835  2,682,218 

Coastwise .4,234,690  177,9^5         4,412,595 

6,489,073  605,740         7,094,813 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION        411 

DEPARTURES 
STEAM  TONS 

Foreign  ports 3,1 19,491 

SAIL  TONS              TOTAL 

I07,2c6          2,226,747 

Coastwise 4,305,329 

6,424,820 

500,079  4,805,408 
607,335       7,032,155 

On  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  the  waters  of  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Sacramento  are  large  and  well  appointed 
steamboats  carrying  passengers  and  freight. 

The  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  will  bring  to 
California  by  direct  shipment  from  Naples,  Antwerp, 
and  Hamburg  agricultural  laborers  of  Italy,  Belgium, 
and  the  Rhine  provinces  who  will  find  in  California  the 
climate  and  soil  suited  to  the  industries  to  which  they 
are  trained  and  whose  coming  will  add  greatly  to  the 
material  advantage  of  the  state. 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE  COLORADO  DESERT 


THE  Colorado  Desert  lies  in  the  southeastern 
corner  of  Colorado  in  what  was  formerly  San 
Diego  county — now,  Imperial — and  extends 
into  Riverside  county.  Its  extreme  length, 
in  California,  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
and  it  varies  in  width  from  twenty  miles  at  Palm  Springs 
to  eighty-five  at  Holtville.  Below  the  International 
boundary  line  it  has  an  area  about  one-half  that  of  the 
California  portion.  The  area  in  California  is  (roughly) 
about  6,000  square  miles.  A  great  deal  of  this  land  is 
below  sea  level — the  lowest  point  (Salton  Sea)  being 
265  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  depression 
was  formerly  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and 
after  the  Colorado  river  built  up  its  delta  from  the 
Arizona  mesa  to  the  Cocopa  mountains,  this  head  of 
the  gulf  became  a  lake  over  one  hundred  miles  long  and 
from  twenty  to  eighty  miles  wide.  A  well  preserved 
water  line  on  its  mountain  wall  shows  that  the  surface 
of  the  lake  once  stood  at  forty  feet  above  sea  level. 
The  Indians  of  the  Toro  reservation  have  legends  con- 
cerning this  lake:  that  it  contained  many  fish  and  that 
it  gradually  disappeared  many  hundred  years  ago — 
perhaps  a  thousand — leaving  the  dry  floor  of  the  desert 
as  we  know  it.  In  the  northerly  part  of  this  desert  is 
a  depression,  the  lowest  portion  of  the  desert,  usually 
dry,  called  the  Salton  Sea.  Several  times  during  the 
nineteenth  century  an  unusual  freshet  and  overflow  of 
the  Colorado  river  has  sent  the  water  through  the 
arroyos  of  New  and  Alamo  rivers  into  the  Salton  Sea. 
The  Green  river,  rising  in  the  Wind  River  mountains 
of  Wyoming,  and  the  Grand  river,  rising  in  the  Conti- 
nental Divide  in  Colorado,  join  in  southeastern  Utah 


416  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

to  form  the  Colorado.  It  is  the  silt  brought  down  by 
this  river  that  has  formed  the  delta  and  built  up  the 
Colorado  desert  from  what  was  once  the  bottom  of 
the  gulf.  The  river  has  also  built  up  its  channel  until 
this  channel  is  higher  than  the  adjacent  land  on  either 
side.  The  flow  of  the  river  varies  greatly,  and  the 
period  of  freshet  is  in  June.  Since  1878  the  Southern 
Pacific  company  has  made  observations  on  its  bridge 
at  Yuma  and  the  lowest  discharge  was  2,400  cubic 
feet  per  second,  in  January,  1894,  and  the  highest  was 
149,500  cubic  feet  per  second  on  June  24,  1909.  The 
mean  monthly  discharge  for  a  period  of  eighteen  years — 
1 894-191 1 — was: 

second  acre  feet 

feet  monthly 

*Lowest,  November 6,660  3953900 

Highest,  June 50,500         3,000,000 

The  Colorado  river  carries  at  all  times  large  quantities 
of  silt,  the  quantity  and  character  of  which  depend  on 
the  velocity  of  the  flow.  When  the  volume  of  water  is 
less  its  velocity  decreases,  the  amount  of  silt  carried 
is  less,  and  is  deposited  on  the  bottom  of  the  river  which 
correspondingly  rises.  When  the  flood  comes  down, 
the  bed  of  the  river  is  scoured  out  and  sometimes 
lowered  as  much  as  thirty  feet.  With  returning  easy 
water  the  river  resumes  its  deposits  of  silt  on  its  bottom 
which  soon  regains  its  former  position  and  the  river 
continues  extending  its  delta  into  the  gulf  of  California. 
It  is  the  constantly  recurring  flood  and  overflow  that 

*0n  his  return  from  his  first  journey  to  Monterey  Anza  and  his  escort  crossed 
the  riyer  on  a  raft,  May  lo,  1774,  propelled  and  safeguarded  by  a  swarm  of  Yumas, 
swimming.  On  his  second  journey,  with  the  expedition,  he  forded  the  river 
November  30,  1775,  without  difficulty.     Vol.  I,  p.  JJ7,  J5<?. 


THE  IMPERIAL  VALLEY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
Relief   map   of   the   United    States    Reclamation    Service 
published   in   National   Geographic   Magazine   for  January, 
1907. 


Hi  STOP  CALIFOR 

_.  r^-.L-.rM,L-,  Jt  ii>  u.i:>..  o.it  brout......  ...>. 

ed  the  delta  and  built  u 

C'olorado  desert  from  what  was  once  the  bottc 

hf  guif.     The  ri  ap  its  channel  um 

ihis  chani    '       ^  cent  land  on  r''' 

side.     Tb  ...es  greatly,  anc    .. 

period  Since  1878  the  Southern 

Pacific  compa  observations  on  its  brid 

at  Yuma  harge  was  2,400  cub 

feet  per  -^  '^^^94>  and  the  highest  w 

i4Q,qo  d  on  June  24,  1909.    Ti 

mc  A  period  of  eighteen  years 
1894- _ 

Ai  ASiO'iUAD  10  Y3 JJAV  JAma^Iv^  'l^tTT         -* ^ '  ^  ^^ j^^  '• 
3Divi32    noi JBxnBba^I    33j£}2    baJinU   sdi   \o   q&m '  bibil 

y>   -xoej  ,000,0c 


water 

ieS:: 

is]. 

COliv 

the   bi- 

lowere  ich  as 

water  the  river  resun  posits  oi  silt  on  its  botlo: 

'    '  "ns  iiy  lurmer  position  and  the  rive 

M'  its  ('elta  into  the  gulf  of  Califomi 
T-ring  flood  ai. 

'1  froTT>  hv  Monterey  Anra  and  his  escort 

:rm  of  iun:  r 

.d  the  rWi 


'A 


YUW*       PnCJttT 


//■ 


"^%^, 


Li)V\  ^    ',    COLORADO 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  417 

has  built  up  the  desert  and  the  delta.  A  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  silt  contents  of  the  river  at  Yuma  for  a 
period  of  six  months  showed  the  ratio  of  dry  material 
to  weight  of  water  to  be  i  to  277.  The  corresponding 
ratio  in  the  Mississippi  is  i  to  1,500;  the  Nile,  i  to  1,900; 
the  Danube,  i  to  3,060.  A  series  of  studies  of  the  rela- 
tions of  sediment  to  water  resulted  in  the  estimate  that 
148,084,000  tons  of  solid  matter  were  carried  by  Yuma 
each  year,  sufficient  to  make  approximately  71,800 
acre-feet  of  dry  alluvial  soil.  On  the  banks  and  river 
bottom  of  the  Colorado,  and  throughout  its  flood  plain 
is  such  a  dense  and  varied  growth  of  mezquite,  screw- 
bean,  willow,  arrow-weed,  wild  hemp,  and  carrizo,  as 
to  form  in  some  cases  a  nearly  impenetrable  jungle. 
It  was  this  vegetation  which  caused  Anza  such  trouble 
with  his  cattle. 

The  Colorado  river  comes  out  of  its  canon  through 
the  Purple  Hills,  flows  southeasterly  about  fifteen  miles 
to  Yuma,  thence  nearly  due  west  about  five  miles  to 
Pilot  Knob  (Cerro  de  San  Pablo),  a  small  butte  lying 
just  above  the  International  boundary  line,  thence 
almost  due  south  it  flows  eighty  miles  to  the  gulf  of 
California.*  On  the  left  or  eastern  bank  of  the  river 
is  a  high  mesa  forming  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
plain  of  the  river,  and  reaching  nearly  to  its  mouth, 
while  from  the  boundary  line  the  river  runs  on  a  ridge 
of  its  own  making  confined  only  by  banks  of  soft  allu- 
vial, seldom  more  that  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  During 
high  water  these  banks  are  overflowed  at  many  points, 
the  water  running  through  channels  made  in  previous 
years.     In  severe  floods  the  overflow  is  general,  only 

*That  is,  of  course,  the  old  channel — not  its  present  one. 


418  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

checked  by  the  dense,  matted  growth.  The  principal 
inundation  channels  are  the  Alamo,  New,  Padrones,* 
Abejas,  and  Pescadero  rivers.  The  Alamo,  or  Salton 
river,  is  the  most  northerly  of  these  "rivers."  It 
extends  from  the  Colorado,  a  little  below  the  boundary 
line,  and  pursues  a  south  and  southwesterly  course 
following  the  southern  end  of  the  sand-hills  that  extend 
into  Lower  California  and  a  high  sand  mesa  to  the  west 
of  them,  thence  northerly  it  crosses  the  boundary  at 
about  longitude  115°  20'  and  continues  on  that  course  to 
Salton  Sea  at  latitude  (about)  33°  10'.  It  is  a  well 
defined  channel  and  in  its  course  the  river  spreads  out 
in  broad  swamps  known  locally  as  lagunas.  These  were 
the  wells  (Pozos)  where  Anza  encamped  on  his  memor- 
able journey  of  1774.  The  New  river  heads  from 
Volcano  lake,  the  largest  of  these  lagunas,  about  eigh- 
teen miles  below  the  boundary  line  and  the  same 
distance  from  the  river.  It  is  fed  by  the  Padrones  and 
Abejas  rivers.  It  is  on  the  summit  of  a  low,  flat  divide 
between  the  Salton  Sea  on  the  north  and  the  gulf  on 
the  south.  Its  bed  is  about  twenty-two  feet  above  sea 
level  and  its  discharge  is  both  north  and  south.  Its 
high  water  stage  is  about  thirty-five  feet  above  sea 
level  and  at  such  times  it  extends  about  ten  miles 
northwest  and  southeast  and  is  six  miles  wide.  The 
New  river  runs  in  a  northerly  direction  until  it  reaches 
the  Salton  Sea.  Volcano  lake  sends  its  discharge  north 
by  New  river  to  Salton  Sea  and  south  by  a  channel 
called  Hardy's  Colorado  to  the  gulf;  but  since  1908  a 
line  of  levees  has  prevented  any  water  from  passing 
into  New  river  and  thence  into  Salton  Sea  and  the 


•Sometimes  called  Paredones. 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  419 

lake's  waters,  therefore,  go  to  the  gulf  through  Hardy's 
Colorado,  which,  now  that  it  is  charged  with  the  bur- 
den of  the  Colorado  is  an  important  channel  averaging 
about  five  hundred  feet  wide  and  twenty  feet  deep  at 
maximum  stages.  This  once  despised  slough  takes  its 
name  from  Lieutenant  R.  W.  H.  Hardy,  R.  N.,  who 
sailed  into  it  in  1826  with  a  small  schooner.  The 
Padrones  runs  in  a  southwesterly  direction  from  the 
Colorado  to  the  northeastern  corner  of  Volcano  lake 
where  it  discharges  its  flood.  The  Abejas  drains  the 
overflow  from  the  region  south  of  the  Padrones, 
and  running  southwesterly  empties  into  Volcano 
lake.  Since  the  summer  flood  of  1908  this  river  has 
been  carrying  into  Volcano  lake  the  entire  low-water 
flow  of  the  Colorado  and  the  greater  part  of  the  flood 
flow,  to  be  discharged  into  the  gulf  through  Hardy's 
Colorado.  The  Pescadero  drains  the  region  below 
the  Abejas  and  dividing  into  a  network  of  channels 
empties  into  Hardy's  Colorado  and  thence  to  the  gulf. 
Throughout  the  delta  innumerable  sloughs  connect 
the  various  rivers,  and  these  as  well  as  the  rivers  are 
but  dry  arroyos  during  the  low  water  season. 

The  Colorado  desert  was  first  crossed  by  white  men 
in  1774  when  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  with  a  small 
expedition  of  thirty-four  men  with  pack  animals, 
crossed  the  Colorado  river  and  on  February  13th  made 
his  first  plunge  into  the  desert  only  to  be  thrown  back 
six  days  later,  narrowly  escaping  a  total  loss  of  his 
expedition.  He  had  no  guides  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  location  of  the  water  holes.  The  Indians  of  the 
Colorado  river  would  not  venture  into  the  desert  for 
fear   of   enemies   who  frequented  its   western  border. 


420  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

They  could  only  give  him  general  directions  where  to 
find  water  and  as  neither  understood  the  language  of 
the  other,  clearness  of  direction  was  difficult.  To  the 
west  of  the  junction  of  the  Gila  with  the  Colorado, 
bordering  the  easterly  side  of  the  desert  of  which  they 
form  a  serious  part,  lie  a  range  of  sand-hills  reaching 
from  about  thirty  miles  north  of  the  International 
boundary  and  extending  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to 
some  ten  or  twelve  miles  below  it — varying  in  breadth 
from  ten  to  thirty  miles.  These  hills  are  deadly  and  to 
become  entangled  among  them  is  to  be  lost.  Anza  in 
his  search  for  water  and  feed  for  the  animals  managed 
to  get  among  the  outlying  ones  and  failing  to  find  either 
water  or  grass  made  a  retreat  to  the  river.  After  re- 
freshing his  men  and  beasts  he  tried  again  passing  well 
down  the  plain  of  the  river  and  after  nine  days  of  travel 
reached  the  junction  of  the  San  Felipe  and  Carrizo 
rivers  and  the  end  of  his  desert  passage.  It  must  not 
be  supposed  that  when  one  speaks  of  "rivers"  one 
means  to  convey  the  impression  of  rivers  of  flowing 
water — such  for  instance  as  the  Connecticut,  or  the 
Sacramento, — one  does  not;  one  means  rivers  of 
the  desert,  and  of  a  California  desert.  They  may  have 
water  in  their  courses  or  they  may  not — generally  not. 
The  rivers  of  southern  California,  someone  has  said, 
flow  bottom  up — meaning  that  the  flow  is  underground. 
The  San  Felipe  and  the  Carrizo  come  down  from  the 
San  Jacinto  mountains  and  joining  at  the  edge  of  the 
desert,  flow  into  the  Salton  Sea— when  they  flow  any- 
where. It  is  because  of  the  sand-hills  and  a  mesa  of 
about  forty  feet  in  height  extending  westerly  therefrom 
for  about  fifteen  miles  that  the  Yuma  trail,  as  the  road 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  421 

from  San  Diego  to  Yuma,  founded  by  Anza,  came  to 
be  called,  makes  a  bend  into  Lower  California.  This 
was  the  course  of  travel  before  the  building  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad.  Over  this  dread  desert, 
following  Anza's  route,  came  in  1846,  General  Kearny 
with  the  "Army  of  the  West"  for  the  conquest  of 
California.  Kearny  crossed  the  desert  to  Carrizo  river 
in  three  and  a  half  days  of  travel  (ninety  miles)  with 
great  suffering  to  both  man  and  beast  and  losing  a 
number  of  animals.  The  diar>^  of  Lieutenant  W.  H. 
Emory  of  the  command  says  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  day  in  the  desert  (November  28th):  "The  call 
to  saddle  was  sounded,  and  we  silently  groped  our  way 
in  the  dark.  The  stoutest  animals  now  began  to  stag- 
ger, and  when  day  dawned,  scarcely  a  man  was  seen 
mounted."*  Quite  a  number  of  the  gold  immigration 
of  1849  came  by  this  route  and  their  sufferings  were 
dreadful.  Bayard  Taylor  writes  of  those  taken  on  board 
his  steamer  at  San  Diego:  "The  immigrants  by  the 
Gila  route  gave  a  terrible  account  of  the  crossing  of 
the  great  desert  lying  west  of  the  Colorado.  They 
describe  this  region  as  scorching  and  sterile— a  country 
of  burning  salt  plains  and  shifting  hills  of  sand,  whose 
only  signs  of  human  visitation  are  the  bones  of  animals 
and  men  scattered  along  the  trails  that  cross  it.  The 
corpses  of  several  emigrants,  out  of  companies  who 
passed  before  them,  lay  half  buried  in  the  sand,  and 
the  hot  air  was  made  stifling  by  the  effluvia  that  rose 
from  the  dried  carcasses  of  hundreds  of  mules.  There, 
if  a  man  faltered  he  was  gone;  no  one  could  stop  to 

*W.  H.   Emory,   A  Military   Reconnaissance,  Fort  Leavemvorth  to  San   Diego. 
Ex.  Doc.  41,  30th  Cong,  ist  Ses. 


422  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

lend  him  a  hand  without  a  likelihood  of  sharing  his 
fate."*  John  Russell  Bartlett,  United  States  Boundary 
Commisioner  (1852),  with  an  escort  of  fifty  men,  all 
mounted,  with  pack  animals  and  wagons,  crossed  the 
desert  from  Carrizo  river  to  the  Colorado  in  June, 
taking  six  days  for  the  journey.  He  writes:  "As  it  is 
too  hot  to  march  at  all  during  the  day  we  make  all  our 
journeys  at  night.  *  *  *  June  6th.  Reached  Alamo 
Mucho  on  the  desert  at  7  o'clock  this  morning  after  a 
journey  of  twelve  hours  without  a  moment's  rest  in 
which  we  had  made  forty-five  miles.  *  *  *  The  desert 
here  is  a  vast  open  plain,  extending  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach  on  every  side,  except  on  the  southwest,  where 
a  chain  of  mountains  appears  some  thirty  or  forty  miles 
distant.!  The  undulations  are  few  and  slight.  *  *  * 
June  7th.  We  passed  several  wagons  in  good  condition 
which  had  been  abandoned  by  their  owners  *  *  *  the 
mules  of  which  had  perished.  The  whitened  bones  of 
animals  marked  the  road  in  many  places,  terrors  to 
passing  emigrants.  *  *  *  I  rode  a  mule  all  this  night, 
and  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  retain  my  seat  in  the 
saddle,  *  *  *  and  some  of  the  party  were  so  overcome 
with  drowsiness  that,  fastening  their  mules  to  bushes, 
or  to  their  legs,  they  lay  down  on  the  desert  and  stole 
a  few  minutes'  sleep. "{ 

These  extracts  convey  a  realizing  sense  of  what  the 
Colorado  desert  was.  Its  temperature  in  summer 
ranges  from  92°  to  115°,  and  in  winter  it  is  sometimes 
as  low  as  22°  F.     The  rainfall  is  less  than  three  inches 


*Bayard  Taylor,  El  Dorado,  p.  47. 
tCocopa  mountains. 

tjohn  Russell  Bartlett,  Personal  Narratives  oj  Explorations  Incidents,  Vol.  II, 
p.  130-147- 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  423 

per  annum  and  in  some  years  no  rain  at  all  falls.  On 
the  southeast  border  of  Salton  Sea  lies  a  group  of  mud 
volcanoes  six  miles  south  of  Imperial  Junction,  and 
about  sixty  miles  to  the  south  of  these,  on  the  western 
shore  of  Volcano  lake,  is  another  and  much  larger  group. 
From  these  mounds  or  cones  of  mud  gases  containing 
sulphurous  vapor  are  discharged,  and  round  about  the 
mounds  are  pools  of  hot  mud  or  water,  the  latter  often 
so  acid  that  shoes  or  wearing  apparel  moistened  with 
it  are  destroyed. 

In  1 89 1  and  1892  the  Colorado  River  Irrigation 
company  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  to 
and  distributing  upon  the  Colorado  desert  water  taken 
from  the  river,  and  Mr,  C.  R.  Rockwood  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  engineering  work.  Under  Mr.  Rock- 
wood's  direction  the  entire  problem  of  irrigating  the 
lands  of  the  Colorado  river  delta  was  worked  out,  but 
the  financial  stringency  of  1893  put  an  end  to  the 
operations  of  the  company  and  Mr.  Rockwell  found 
himself  in  possession  of  the  plans,  records,  and  data 
of  the  Colorado  River  Irrigation  company  in  lieu  of 
salary.  Thoroughly  convinced  of  the  possibilities  of 
the  project,  Mr.  Rockwood  for  seven  years  endeavored 
to  finance  the  work,  both  in  the  United  States  and 
abroad.  On  April  26,  1896,  the  California  Develop- 
ment company  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  New 
Jersey.  To  take  the  water  from  the  Colorado  river 
and  carry  it  by  a  canal  lying  wholly  on  American  soil 
to  those  areas  of  the  Colorado  desert,  susceptible  of 
irrigation  by  gravity,  north  of  the  boundary  line,  was 
impracticable  by  reason  of  the  great  cost  of  carrying 
the  conduit   across  the  sand-hills.     It  was   therefore 


424  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

necessary  to  acquire  land  and  rights  of  way  in  that 
portion  of  the  Colorado  delta  lying  in  Lower  California. 
This  was  done  through  a  Mexican  company,  the  capital 
stock  of  which  was  owned  by  the  California  Develop- 
ment company.  Water  filings  were  made  on  behalf 
of  the  company  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Colorado 
river  about  3,000  feet  north  of  the  boundary  line, 
appropriating  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second  of  the  flow 
for  the  irrigation  of  American  lands  in  the  Colorado 
desert.  The  company  also  obtained  options  on  land 
along  the  river  north  of  the  boundary,  including  the 
rocky  point  of  Pilot  Knob,  and  the  Mexican  company 
acquired  an  option  on  10,000  acres  in  Mexico,  immedi- 
ately south  of  the  boundary,  and  the  bed  of  the  Alamo 
river  which  extended  beyond  this  tract.  Easements 
were  obtained  for  rights  of  way  in  the  Colorado  desert 
north  of  the  boundary  line  by  application  to  the 
secretary  of  the  interior  accompanied  by  maps  and 
descriptions  of  the  proposed  works.  In  March,  1900, 
the  Imperial  Land  company  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  California  for  the  purpose  of  colonization. 
This  company  contracted  to  do  all  the  advertising  and 
colonizing  and  to  sell  all  water  stock  on  a  twenty-five 
per  cent  commission  and  the  further  and  exclusive 
privilege  of  town-sites.  By  using  government  land 
scrip  the  company  obtained  immediate  ownership  in 
fee  simple  of  tracts  of  land  in  various  parts  of  the  valley 
and  subdivided  them  into  town-sites.  These  town- 
sites  were  covered  with  water  stock  in  order  to  obtain 
water  for  domestic  and  municipal  use.  Thus  were 
established  the  town-sites  of  Mexicali,  in  Mexico,  and 
Calexico,  Heber,  Imperial,  and  Brawley  in  California. 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  425 

The  other  town-sites:  El  Centre,  Holtville,  Seeley, 
Dixieland,  and  other  places  were  plotted  and  put  on 
the  market  by  other  parties  later. 

On  April  3,  1900,  the  Development  company  entered 
into  a  five  year  contract  with  Mr.  George  Chaffey 
of  Los  Angeles,  a  civil  and  mechanical  engineer  of  wide 
experience  in  irrigation  work,  to  construct  such  canals 
as  were  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  taking  water  from 
the  Colorado  river  above  the  boundary  line  to  the 
lands  of  the  California  Development  north  of  said 
boundary,  the  canals  to  have  sufficient  capacity  to 
deliver  400,000  acre  feet  of  water  per  annum  at  the 
point  where  the  main  canal  intersects  the  International 
boundary.  The  construction  cost  of  such  canals 
should  not  exceed  ^150,000,  the  money  for  which  was 
to  be  furnished  by  Mr.  Chaffey,  who  was  to  have 
charge  of  the  company's  finances  during  the  period 
of  contract.  The  original  plan  of  Mr.  Rockwood 
contemplated  taking  the  water  from  a  point  on  the 
river  about  fourteen  miles  above  Yuma  known  as 
The  Potholes,  later  selected  by  the  United  States 
Reclamation  Service  as  the  site  for  the  Laguna  dam. 
Disregarding  the  Rockwood  plan  Mr.  Chaffey  con- 
structed the  intake  just  above  the  boundary  line  and 
running  his  canal  in  a  southerly  direction  to  the  Alamo 
river,  utilized  that  ancient  channel  to  conduct  the 
water  to  where  it  crossed  the  International  boundary, 
sixty  miles  distant.  At  a  place  called  Sharp  just  below 
the  Mexican  line  a  heading  was  put  in  and  the  water 
was  led  by  canals  over  the  land  to  be  irrigated.  Mutual 
water  companies  were  formed  to  distribute  the  water 
whereby  the  farmer  could  obtain  water  for  his  land; 


426  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

each  share  of  stock  representing  the  right  to  purchase 
water  for  the  irrigation  of  one  acre  of  land,  and  each 
certificate  of  stock  to  have  written  on  its  face  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  land  on  which  it  is  located.  Each  Mutual 
company  entered  into  a  tri-party  contract  with  the 
Development  company  and  the  Mexican  company, 
whereby  the  Mexican  company  agreed  to  supply 
water  to  the  Mutual  company  on  demand  at  definite 
points  on  the  International  boundary,  for  fifty  cents 
per  acre  foot,  to  be  used  only  on  lands  within  its  own 
district,  while  the  Development  company  agreed  to 
build  the  distribution  system  of  the  Mutual  company 
and  to  maintain  certain  definite  portions  of  the  canal 
thereof  perpetually,  reserving  to  itself  the  right  to  de- 
velop and  use  the  water-power  that  might  be  obtained 
from  the  waters  running  through  the  canals,  including 
those  of  the  Mutual  company;  the  Mutual  company  to 
turn  over  all  its  capital  stock  to  the  Development  com- 
pany and  to  agree  to  locate  such  stock  on  any  lands 
within  its  district  on  the  order  of  the  Development 
company.  The  Development  company  was  to  sell  the 
capital  stock  of  the  various  Mutual  companies  to  the 
settlers,  and  with  the  proceeds  build  the  main  canal  in 
the  United  States  and  Mexico  and  the  distributing 
systems,  which  became  the  properties  of  the  Mutual 
companies.  All  this  Mr.  Chaffey  and  his  associates 
accomplished  and  between  April  3,  1900,  and  February, 
1902,  he  built  the  main  canal,  and  more  than  400  miles 
of  distributing  ditches. 

The  Imperial  Land  company  decided  to  use  the  name 
"Imperial  Valley"  for  the  region  to  be  covered  by  the 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  427 

irrigating  canals  as  sounding  somewhat  better  than 
"Colorado  Desert"  for  colonizing  purposes.  This  name 
has  been  firmly  established  as  covering  the  cultivated 
area  of  the  Colorado  desert,  and  that  portion  of  San 
Diego  county  east  of  ii6°  lo'  is  now  Imperial  county. 
The  settlement  of  the  Imperial  valley  took  place 
rapidly.  On  January  i,  1901,  with  the  exception  of  a 
party  of  surveyors,  not  a  single  white  man  lived  in  the 
whole  region;  by  January  i,  1904,  7,000  people  were  in 
the  district,  and  on  January  i,  1905,  the  population 
was  between  12,000  and  14,000.  A  branch  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad  runs  through  the  district  and 
at  the  beginning  of  1905  there  were  seven  towns  with 
stores,  banks,  etc.,  780  miles  of  canals,  about  120,000 
acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  and  200,000  acres 
covered  by  water  stock.  The  rapid  development  of 
the  valley  overtaxed  the  resources  of  the  Development 
company  which  was  also  confronted  with  other  com- 
plications of  a  serious  nature.  One  of  these  was  the 
discovery  of  gross  errors  in  the  government  surveys, 
necessitating  a  new  survey  which  was  authorized  by 
an  act  of  congress  in  July,  1902,  but  it  was  not  until 
1909  that  the  interior  lines  in  the  townships  were 
completed  and  approved.  This  was  particularly  hard 
on  the  settlers  as  they  could  not  obtain  patents  for 
their  lands,  making  it  impossible  to  borrow  money  on 
them.  In  1902,  a  preliminary  report  issued  by  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  claimed  that 
the  soil  was  impregnated  with  alkali  and  stating  that 
many  of  the  settlers  were  talking  of  planting  crops 
"which  it  will  be  absolutely  impossible  to  grow." 
This  warning  was  repeated  in  a  subsequent  report,  and 


428  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  press  of  California  condemned  the  project  and 
warned  investors  and  settlers  from  the  field.  The 
engineers  of  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service 
were  convinced  that  no  diversion  from  the  Colorado 
for  irrigation  could  be  permanently  successful  where 
provisions  were  not  made  for  preventing  the  heavy 
silt  from  entering  the  canals.  The  people  of  the 
Imperial  valley  were  urged  to  join  in  the  Yuma  project, 
a  government  enterprise  upon  which  more  than 
$3,600,000  has  been  expended,  and  a  proposition  was 
made  to  turn  the  California  Development  over  to  the 
Yuma  project  on  a  basis  of  $3,000,000  valuation  for 
the  entire  property.  This  offer  was  rejected  by  the 
officers  of  the  reclamation  service  and  in  a  report  to 
the  secretary  of  the  interior  January  4,  1905,  Mr.  C.  D. 
Walcott,  director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey and  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  said  that  in  the 
present  desperate  situation  of  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Imperial  valley,  it  was  a  matter  of  grave  doubt 
whether  it  was  wise  to  become  involved  in  the  situation. 
He  said:  "Much  of  the  land  filed  on  is  unsuitable  for 
cultivation  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  alkali  and 
other  adverse  conditions  of  the  soil.  The  water  supply 
is  deficient,  owing  to  poor  construction  and  accidents 
to  the  canal  system,  and  although  during  the  fall 
months  there  has  been  ample  water,  it  appears  that 
the  people  will  not  utilize  it,  and  from  best  information 
are  not  planting  crops  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Difficulties  of  handling  the  silt  are  very  great,  and  if  the 
government  is  to  take  up  the  project,  it  must  make 
enormous  expenditures  at  once  to  prevent  the  country 
lapsing  into   a   desert  condition."     About  this   time, 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  429 

people  began  to  be  concerned  regarding  the  obstruction 
to  navigation  of  the  Colorado,  and  the  right  of  the 
Development  company  to  take  water  from  the  stream 
was  challenged. 

The  effect  of  these  adverse  criticisms  of  soil,  plant, 
and  water  rights  was  to  destro}^  the  company's  credit 
and  it  became  exceedingly  difficult  to  procure  funds  to 
perfect  and  extend  the  plant.  The  excessive  deposits 
of  silt  in  the  intakes  caused  much  trouble;  it  required 
great  and  constant  effort  to  keep  them  open,  and  with 
the  apparatus  and  available  funds  on  hand  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  the  water  supply  up  to  the  demands 
when  the  river  fell  very  low.  Mr.  Chaifey  had  severed 
his  connection  with  the  company  in  February,  1902, 
and  Mr.  Rockwood  had  been  put  in  charge  as  chief 
engineer.  A  second  intake  had  been  made  above  the 
boundary  line  in  1902;  one  in  1904  immediately  below 
it,  and  in  October,  1904,  Mr.  Rockwood  made  a  fourth 
cut  in  the  river  bank  four  miles  below  the  original 
heading,  in  the  endeavor  to  furnish  to  the  people  of 
the  Imperial  valley  the  water  they  had  a  right  to 
demand. 

In  January,  1905,  the  management  of  the  Develop- 
ment company  approached  Mr.  E.  H.  Harriman, 
president  of  the  Southern  Pacific  company,  with  a 
request  for  a  loan  of  $200,000.  which  was  made  on 
the  security  of  6,300  shares  of  the  Development 
company,  the  Southern  Pacific  company  taking  over 
the  management  of  the  property  in  June  until  such 
time  as  the  loan  should  be  repaid,  with  Mr.  Epes 
Randolph  of  the  Harriman  lines  as  president.  As  soon 
as  it  was  decided  to  cut  the  lower  intake  plans  for  a 


430  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

controlling  gate  to  be  placed  in  the  heading  were  made 
and  sent  to  the  city  of  Mexico  for  approval.  This  was 
not  obtained  until  December,  1905 — more  than  a  year 
later.  Owing  to  this  delay  and  the  very  limited  amount 
of  money  available  no  head-gates  were  placed  at  the 
intake  at  the  time,  but  in  October,  1904,  a  cut  of  60  feet 
was  made  in  the  bank  of  the  river  and  the  water  con- 
veyed to  the  main  canal  and  thence  to  the  Alamo 
river.  In  February,  1905,  came  a  heavy  flood  from  the 
Gila  river  which  caused  some  trouble  at  the  intake  but 
occasioned  no  alarm.  While  the  Colorado,  rising  in 
the  north,  sends  down  its  flood  in  May  and  June,  the 
Gila,  having  its  rise  in  the  San  Francisco  and  Mogollon 
ranges  of  New  Mexico  has  its  freshets  in  the  late  winter 
or  early  spring  months,  and  had  hitherto  caused  no 
trouble.  The  flood  of  February  was  followed  by  a 
second  and  then  a  third,  causing  no  damage  other  than 
a  heavy  deposit  of  silt  in  the  intake  which  was  being 
removed  by  dredgers.  The  engineer,  however,  decided 
to  close  the  intake  before  the  high  water  of  the  summer 
should  be  upon  them,  as  the  Gila  flood  would  furnish 
sufficient  water  for  the  canal  by  the  upper  intakes. 
Work  was  begun  upon  a  dam  to  close  the  cut  when  a 
fourth  flood  came  down  and  swept  it  out.  Work  was 
immediately  begun  upon  another  dam  when  a  fifth 
flood  came  down  and  carried  it  away.  Efforts  to  close 
the  intake  were  continued  and  in  May  came  the  high 
water  of  the  Colorado,  which  enlarged  the  intake 
from  60  to  150  feet,  and  in  June  it  was  found  that  very 
much  more  water  than  was  needed  for  irrigation  was 
flowing  into  the  canal  and  was  rapidly  cutting  the 
channel  wider  and  deeper.     The  most  heroic  efforts 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  431 

were  made  to  stop  the  break  but  on  June  17th  it  was 
realized  that  nothing  effective  could  be  done  until  the 
summer  flood  was  past  and  the  work  was  therefore 
suspended.  As  the  water  began  to  fall  the  banks  of  the 
intake  began  to  cave  and  fall  into  the  canal;  the  banks 
of  the  canal  below  the  intake  fell  in  and  by  the  end  of 
August,  1905,  the  intake  had  been  enlarged  to  300  feet 
and  the  entire  river  was  running  through  the  canal  and 
into  the  Salton  Sea,  which  was  rapidly  rising  and 
submerging  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  track,  which 
was  hastily  moved  to  higher  ground. 

Opposite  the  lower  intake  was  an  island,  later  called 
Disaster  island,  about  five-eighths  mile  long  and  one- 
quarter  mile  wide,  consisting  of  a  sand  bar  on  which  a 
growth  of  Cottonwood  and  arrow-weed  had  accumu- 
lated, having  the  main  channel  of  the  river  flowing 
west  of  the  island.  From  the  northern  end  of  this 
island  a  dam  was  constructed  about  600  feet  in  length 
to  the  Mexican  shore,  the  idea  being  to  throw  the  river 
flow  to  the  east  channel  and  consequently  to  the 
old  bed  of  the  Colorado.  On  November  29th  a  heavy 
flood  from  the  Gila  came  down  and  the  dam  was 
entirely  swept  away.  This  flood  not  only  carried  out 
the  dam  but  was  rapidly  taking  away  Disaster  island, 
and  it  widened  the  intake  to  600  feet.  This  was  the 
fourth  failure  to  close  the  break.  It  was  now  deter- 
mined to  erect  a  head-gate  of  concrete  and  steel  at 
Pilot  Knob  where  foundations  of  granite  could  be 
secured,  sufficient  to  carry  the  entire  flow  of  the  river 
and  leave  the  bed  of  the  river  and  consequently  the 
break  itself  dry.  This  required  the  enlargement  of  the 
four  miles  of  canal  below  and  was  a  portion  of  plan 


432  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

long  contemplated,  and  while  designed  as  a  permanent 
improvement,  to  be  built  with  a  part  of  the  money 
obtained  from  the  Southern  Pacific  company,  was  now 
rushed  through  in  the  effort  to  regain  control  of  the 
river.  It  was  also  determined  to  put  a  wooden  head- 
gate  in  the  canal,  about  200  feet  north  of  the  lower 
intakfe  channel,  with  a  width  of  120  feet,  to  carry  a 
maximum  of  9,000  second  feet.  This  was  completed  on 
April  18,  1906,  and  was  called  the  Rockwood  head-gate. 

On  April  19,  1905,  Mr.  H.  T.  Cory  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  company  was  put  in  charge  of  the  work  of  the 
California  Development  company  and  the  Mexican 
company  as  general  manager  and  chief  engineer,  Mr. 
Rockwood  remaining  with  the  companies  as  consulting 
engineer  until  October  i,  1906,  when  he  severed  his 
connection  with  them.  In  April,  1906,  Mr.  Randolph 
succeeded  in  inducing  Mr.  Harriman  to  advance 
^250,000  more  to  the  company  for  the  purpose  of 
controlling  the  river  and  protecting  the  Imperial  valley. 

By  April  10,  1906,  the  discharge  of  the  river  was 
32,200  second  feet,  showing  that  the  annual  flood  had 
begun,  and  therefore  all  thought  of  attempting  to 
divert  the  water  through  the  Rockwood  head-gate  by 
damming  the  crevasse  before  the  summer  flood  should 
have  been  passed  was  abandoned.  The  summer  flood 
of  1906  was  very  large.  It  widened  the  break  from 
600  feet  to  nearly  2,700,  and  when  the  peak  of  the 
flood  was  reached,  some  75,000  second  feet  were 
flowing  down  Alamo  river  toward  the  Salton  Sea 
which  began  to  rise  at  the  rate  of  seven  inches  a  day. 
Much  of  this  flood  went  overbank  west  and  south  and 
was  carried  by  sloughs  to  New  river,  filling  and  over- 


NEW  RIVER,  NEAR  BRAWLEY 
From  an  article  by  Mr.  Arthur  P.  Davis,  Assistant  Chief 

Engineer  of  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service,  in  National 

Geographic  Magazine  for  January,  1907. 

Note  the  strong  sweep  of  the  current  and  the  high  bank  of 

silt  which  is  being  rapidly  washed  away. 


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'  ' 'b  began  to  rise  at  the  i  aches  a  da 

of  this  flood  went  overbank  west  and  sout 
rried  by  sloughs  to  New  filling  and  ovc 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  433 

flowing  that  channel,  and  spread  itself  out  to  a  maxi- 
mum width  of  ten  miles,  just  south  of  the  boundary- 
line,  covering  the  ground  to  a  depth  of  about  four  feet. 
The  people  of  Calexico  and  Mexicali,  threw  up  a 
hasty  levee  to  protect  their  towns,  encircling  them  by 
about  five  miles  of  levee  with  a  maximum  height  of 
five  feet. 

The  elevation  of  the  water  surface  at  the  head  of 
Disaster  island,  with  a  flow  in  the  river  of  10,000  second 
feet,  is  approximately  100  feet,  while  the  bottom  of 
the  Salton  Sea  is  approximately  287  feet,  making  the 
total  fall  in  that  direction  387  feet.  The  distance 
by  the  water  courses  is  about  ninety-five  miles  making 
the  average  fall  4.01  feet  per  mile.  Towards  the 
gulf  the  fall  was  100  feet  and  the  distance  to  tide  water 
eighty  miles,  or  a  fall  of  1.25  feet  per  mile.  Toward 
the  Salton  Sea  the  descent  of  the  arroyos  was  much 
more  rapid  and  the  water  rushing  down  cut  into  their 
banks  and  began  to  erode  their  beds  and  formed  falls 
or  cataracts  in  the  channels.  These  cataracts  advanc- 
ing up  stream  sometimes  as  fast  as  a  foot  per  minute, 
cut  gorges  in  the  channel  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  deep 
and  from  1,000  to  1,500  feet  wide.  As  the  cataract 
of  the  New  river  passed  the  adjoining  towns  of  Calexico 
and  Mexicali  it  threatened  them  with  total  destruction. 
In  Mexicali  the  railroad  station,  brick  hotel,  and  a 
number  of  smaller  buildings  were  carried  away  and 
the  actual  damage  sustained  was  about  ^75,000;  while 
in  Calexico  the  damage  was  estimated  at  $15,000. 
The  erosion  threatened  to  leave  the  surface  of  the 
Imperial  valley  high  and  dry  and  should  the  cutting 
extend  until  the  excess  of  fall  to  the  Salton  Sea  over 


434  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

that  to  the  gulf  had  been  distributed  up  the  Colorado 
river,  it  might  become  impossible  to  irrigate  the  valley, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  confronted  with  the  prospect 
of  total  destruction  of  their  property.  Some  3,000 
acres  of  improved  and  10,000  acres  of  unimproved 
land  were  eroded  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  practically 
ruined  for  agricultural  or  for  any  other  purpose,  and 
the  area  occupied  by  the  New  and  Alamo  channels 
was  increased  by  about  7,000  acres;  while  the  destruc- 
tion of  flumes  left  some  30,000  acres  in  actual  culti- 
vation without  any  water  whatever  and  absolutely 
uninhabitable  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  In  nine 
months  the  runaway  waters  of  the  Colorado  had 
eroded  from  the  New  and  Alamo  river  channels  and 
carried  into  the  Salton  Sea  a  yardage  almost  four  times 
as  great  as  that  removed  from  the  entire  Panama 
Canal. 

By  August  5th  the  discharge  of  the  river  had  fallen 
to  24,500  second  feet  and  preparations  were  made  to 
divert  the  flow  through  the  Rockwood  head-gate  by 
means  of  a  by-pass  extending  from  above  the  proposed 
dam,  through  the  head-gate  and  returning  it  to  the 
channel  below  the  dam.  Brush  mattresses  were  sunk 
across  the  bed  of  the  stream  to  which  were  fastened 
brush  fascines  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  and  100 
feet  in  length  bound  with  bailing  wire  and  sewed  to 
the  mattress  by  heavy  galvanized  iron  wire.  A  four- 
pile  railroad  trestle  with  ten-foot  bends  was  started 
across  this  foundation,  decked,  and  a  railroad  track 
placed  thereon,  connected  at  either  end  by  levees  run 
from  the  upper  intake.  Where  the  trestle  crossed 
exposed  sand  bars  in  the  river  bed  on  either  side  of  the 


NEW  RIVER,  AT  CALEXICO 

From  an  article  by  Mr.  Arthur  P.  Davis,  Assistant  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service  in,  National 
Geographic  Magazine  for  January,  1907. 

This  photograph  shows  how  deeply  the  great  river  cut  into 
the  soft  floor  of  the  desert. 


r  u, -3  u...^ 


A    ,, 


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THE  COLORADO  DESERT  435 

stream  it  was  filled  with  clay  from  the  pit  at  Andrade, 
and  cars  run  on  it  dumped  into  the  river  rock  brought 
from  the  quarry.  This  track  was  an  extension  which 
the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  had  built  from  Hanlon's 
Junction  on  the  Yuma  line  to  the  rock  quarry,  and 
the  clay  and  gravel  pits  at  Andrade,  near  Pilot  Knob, 
and  thence  to  the  lower  heading  or  intake  of  the 
Colorado.  In  this  way  a  diflference  of  six  feet  in  the 
water  elevation  above  and  below  the  diversion  dam 
was  soon  attained.  As  the  water  rose  at  the  dam  more 
and  more  went  through  the  by-pass  and  the  Rockwood 
head-gate,  until  by  October  loth  but  1,450  second 
feet  of  the  river's  total  discharge  of  14,300  was  passing 
through  the  dam;  the  rest  going  through  the  gate.  On 
October  nth  the  head-gate  went  out  and  consequently 
the  entire  plan  of  rediverting  the  river  by  wooden 
head-gate  and  by-pass  had  to  be  abandoned.  Three 
trestles  one  above  the  other,  were  now  thrown  across 
the  by-pass  and  rock  dumped  therefrom  as  was  done 
in  the  diversion  dam  in  the  main  channel. 

On  November  4,  1906,  the  crevasse  was  closed  and 
the  river  restored  to  its  old  channel,  the  flow  being 
then  9,275  second  feet,  the  dam  sustaining  a  head  of 
15.8  feet,  and  on  November  15th  300  second  feet  of 
water  was  flowing  though  the  concrete  head-gate  and 
main  canal  into  the  Alamo  channel  below  the  lower 
heading. 

The  various  operations  along  the  river  were  now 
making  satisfactory  progress  and  the  general  manager 
took    occasion    to    investigate    the    condition    of    the 


436  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

California  Development  and  the  Mexican  companies. 
A  hurried  examination  disclosed  the  following  desperate 
state  of  affairs: 

Due  Southern  Pacific  Company,  audited  bills  and 

interest ^1,532,595-73 

General  audited  bills  and  interest 73,786.72 

Bonds  and  accrued  interest 515,200.00 

$2,121,582.45 
Damage  claims  (probable) 

Liverpool  Salt  Company. . .  .$      50,000.00 

Land  owners 200,000.00 

Water  companies 500,000.00 

Southern  Pacific  Company..    1,000,000.00 

Inter-Cal.  R.  R.  Co.  (S.  P.) .       250,000.00  2,000,000.00 


$4,121,582.45 
To  offset  which  the  companies  had  the  following  assets: 
Real  estate  (chiefly  in  Mexico). $545,037. 26 
Stocks    (chiefly    unsold    water 

stock) 175,600.00 

Machinery  and  Equipment .  .  .    179,621.82 

Branch  railroad  track 63,000.00 

Canals  in  Mexico    375,000.00 

Canals  in  United  States 308,616.37 

Accounts  Receivable 235,137.02  $1,882,012.47 


Deficit $2,239,569.98 

On  December  5,  1906,  a  heavy  flood  came  down  the 
Gila  and  before  morning  on  the  6th  a  large  section 
of  the  levee  at  the  south  end  of  the  dam  went  out  and 
the  entire  river,  with  a  discharge  of  30,000  second  feet, 
was  rushing  down  to  the  Salton  Sea,  leaving  its  old 
bed  entirely  dry.  The  situation  appeared  hopeless. 
The  people  of  the   Imperial   valley   appealed   to  the 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  437 

Southern  Pacific  company  for  help,  but  the  company, 
on  the  advice  of  the  chief  engineer  and  general  manager 
of  the  Colorado  river  properties,  supplemented  by  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Randolph,  president,  declined  to 
advance  further  money  for  the  work,  seeing  no  possible 
chance  of  ever  being  able  to  get  back  the  large  amount 
already  sunk.  They  would,  they  said  to  the  people, 
be  very  glad  to  place  such  equipment  and  organization 
as  they  had  along  the  river,  at  the  disposal  of  any  party 
who  wished  to  undertake  its  control,  and  would  be 
willing  to  contribute  toward  the  expenses  thereof  in 
proportion  to  the  value  of  their  interests  as  compared 
to  all  others  in  jeopardy,  but  they  would  not  advance 
additional  funds  without  a  definite  arrangement  for 
being  reimbursed.  The  railroad  company  immediately 
began  construction  of  a  roadbed  for  its  main  line  above 
sea  level  and  ordered  the  work  rushed  to  completion. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  people  was  held  in  Imperial  on 
December  13th  at  which  $950,000  was  subscribed  for 
river  control  work.  These  subscriptions  were  made 
payable  ninety  days  after  the  break  should  be  success- 
fully closed,  the  railroad  to  assume  all  risk  of  the  work. 
Meanwhile  requests  were  sent  out  in  all  directions, 
resulting  in  numerous  civic  and  political  bodies  and 
state  authorities  wiring  to  President  Roosevelt  asking 
to  have  the  assistance  of  the  United  States  government 
in  the  emergency.  The  president  acted  promptly,  and 
as  the  result  of  telegraphic  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Harriman,  orders  to  start  work  on  the  river  were 
received  December  20th, 

After  the  holidays  Senator  Flint  of  California 
introduced  a  bill  in  the  senate  providing  for  an  appro- 


438  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

priation  of  $2,000,000  for  controlling  the  river.  It 
provided  for  payment  to  the  Southern  Pacific  company 
of  the  moneys  it  had  expended  and  the  balance  was 
to  be  used  to  establish  an  irrigation  project  for  Imperial 
valley  by  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service. 
Professor  A.  E.  Chandler  of  the  University  of  California, 
then  with  the  Reclamation  Service,  was  sent  to  the 
scene  to  make  a  special  report,  and  President  Roosevelt, 
on  January  12,  1907,  sent  a  special  message  to  congress 
severely  criticizing  the  promoters  of  the  California 
Development  company  and  urging  the  passage  of  the 
Flint  bill  in  order  to  relieve  the  settlers  of  the  Imperial 
valley  from  the  injustice  they  were  enduring.  This 
bill  was  opposed  by  the  settlers,  who  preferred  the 
existing  irrigation  arrangements  to  those  that  would 
follow  under  the  Reclamation  Service,  and  who  desired 
governmental  assistance  in  river  protection  only.  The 
bill  therefore  failed  to  pass. 

The  work  of  closing  the  second  break  proceeded 
vigorously.  Four  times  the  river  swept  away  the 
piling  and  trestles,  but  on  February  loth,  at  11  p.  m., 
the  break  was  closed  and  all  the  water  was  again  going 
down  the  old  channel.  The  river  discharge  on  Decem- 
ber 20th,  the  time  work  was  begun,  was  12,500  second 
feet.  The  apex  of  the  flood  was  reached  December 
31st  when  it  was  48,900  second  feet,  and  the  day  after 
the  break  was  closed,  February  nth  the  discharge  was 
20,800  second  feet.  The  work  was  done  by  Mr.  H.  T. 
Cory,  chief  engineer  and  general  manager,  with  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  T.  J.  Hind,  superintendent  of  the 
first  closing  of  the  break,  and  Mr.  C.  K.  Clarke, 
superintendent  of  the  second  closing. 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  439 

The  summer  flood  of  1907  caused  a  heavy  flow  into 
Volcano  lake  raising  it  higher  than  it  had  ever  been 
before  and  a  large  quantity  of  water  passed  through 
New  river  into  Salton  Sea.  It  caused,  moreover,  a 
cutting  back  of  sloughs  or  "fingers"  from  Volcano  lake 
toward  the  river  which  promised  another  diversion 
along  the  Pescadero,  Abejas,  or  Padrones  rivers.  To 
prevent  Volcano  lake  discharging  its  waters  into  the 
Salton  Sea  a  levee  was  constructed  from  Cerro  Prieto, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  running  north  of  Volcano 
lake  to  the  low  ridge  to  the  east.  The  flood  of  1908 
caused  a  break  in  the  river  through  one  of  the  "fingers" 
above  referred  to  and  soon  the  entire  river  was  again 
diverted  to  the  west  and  carried  by  the  channel  of 
Abejas  river  into  Volcano  lake  and  thence  by  Hardy's 
Colorado  to  the  gulf.  The  fear  that  the  flood  waters 
would  overtop  the  levee  which  alone  protected  the 
Imperial  valley  from  the  flood  agitated  the  settlers. 
The  Southern  Pacific  company  had  received  nothing 
on  account  of  its  expenditures  for  river  control  and  on 
the  recommendation  of  General  Manager  Cory  the 
authorities  controlling  the  railroad  company  determined 
they  would  no  longer  stand  alone  in  the  breach  and 
carry  the  entire  expense.  The  fact  that  the  menace  to 
property  on  American  soil  came  from  Mexico  greatly 
complicated  the  difficulty.  The  inhabitants  of  Im- 
perial valley  sent  urgent  applications  to  President 
Taft  for  help  and  civic  and  commercial  bodies  of 
California,  as  well  as  state  officials,  joined  in  the  appeal. 
The  president  sent  a  special  message  to  congress 
resulting  in  a  joint  resolution,  approved  June  25,  1910, 
appropriating    $1,000,000    to    be    expended    by    the 


440  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

president  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  lands  and 
property  in  the  Imperial  valley,  and  the  president  was 
authorized  to  expend  any  portion  of  such  money  within 
the  limit  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico  as  he  might  deem 
proper  in  accordance  with  any  arrangements  he  might 
make  with  Mexico. 

The  situation  as  it  is  now  shows  that  the  Colorado 
has  abandoned  its  old  channel  apparently  for  good. 
It  has  made  a  new  channel  for  itself  through  Abejas 
river,  Volcano  lake,  and  Hardy's  Colorado.  In  time 
it  will  build  up  the  bed  of  this  channel  until  it  rises 
so  high  above  the  land  that  the  floods  coming  down 
will  cause  it  to  break  away  again  and  form  another, 
to  repeat  the  same  process.  The  plan  is  to  compel  it  to 
return  to  its  bed  by  extending  the  levees  on  either 
side  of  the  stream  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  gulf, 
strengthening  them  beyond  the  danger  of  further  break. 
The  property  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  is 
now  reasonably  safe  from  the  overflow,  and  while  the 
damage  done  by  the  runaway  river  is  great  the  chief 
sufferers  are  the  railroad  company,  the  Development 
company,  the  Mexican  company,  and  the  Mutual 
water  companies.  The  two  development  companies 
are  bankrupt  and  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  The 
settlers  have  suffered  comparatively  little.  Some 
farms  have  been  washed  away,  others  have  been  flooded 
to  the  damage  or  destruction  of  the  crops,  and  still 
others  have  had  all  water  cut  off  for  a  year  and  a  half; 
while  portions  of  the  towns  of  Calexico  and  Mexicali 
have  been  carried  away.  On  the  other  hand  the 
settlers  have  gained  protection  for  their  lands  and 
the  experience  with  the  Colorado  will  be  most  valuable 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  441 

to  them.  There  is  a  better  understanding  of  the  force 
of  the  river  and  of  the  unstable  character  of  the  banks 
through  which  it  flows,  in  regard  to  holding  qualities. 
Not  only  is  the  settler  assured  of  protection,  but  he  is 
also  assured  of  sufficient  water  for  his  needs.  By 
the  erosion  of  the  Alamo  and  New  river  barrancas  they 
have  acquired  the  main  features  of  a  comprehensive 
drainage  system  for  the  entire  Imperial  valley  with 
the  Salton  Sea  as  a  sump.  A  few  spots  in  the  valley 
are  beginning  to  indicate  an  undesirable  increase  of 
alkali  in  the  soil  and  the  only  effective  treatment  of 
such  soils  is  by  a  thorough  washing,  the  water  passing 
off  through  natural  or  artificial  drainage  ways.  The 
soil  is  of  unknown  depth;  a  well  put  down  by  Mr. 
George  Chaffey,  at  the  site  of  what  is  now  Imperial 
City,  in  hopes  of  securing  a  supply  of  water  for  domestic 
purposes  went  down  670  feet  in  silt  all  the  way. 

At  Sharp's  Heading  on  the  Alamo  river  seven  miles 
east  of  Calexico  the  water  is  delivered  to  the  canals  of 
the  different  mutual  water  companies.  This  distrib- 
uting system  has  over  800  miles  of  canals,  from  those 
ninety  feet  wide,  carrying  water  from  eight  to  ten  feet 
deep,  down  to  those  of  six  feet  in  width,  carrying  ten  to 
twelve  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second.  Owing  to  the 
creation  of  the  barranca  of  New  river  the  land  west  of 
this  channel  was  cut  off  from  water  and  to  fill  the  west 
side  main  canal  a  wooden  flume  supported  by  piling 
was  constructed  across  the  gorge,  1,860  feet  long,  with 
a  trestle  fifty-five  feet  in  height  and  supporting  a 
rectangular  flume  of  two-inch  redwood,  sixteen  feet 
wide  and  six  feet  deep. 


442  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

A  spectacular  effect  of  the  river  break  was  the 
creation  of  the  Salton  Sea,  or  rather  the  filling  of 
the  depression.  The  maximum  area  covered  (January, 
1907)  was  445  square  miles,  the  maximum  depth  of  the 
water  being  seventy-six  feet. 

The  total  area  under  irrigation  and  cultivation  in 
the  Imperial  valley  in  California  is  320,000  acres, 
and  there  are  210,000  acres  additional  land  that  may 
be  irrigated,  while  in  Lower  California  there  are 
approximately  300,000  acres  more.  The  valley  has 
a  population  of  40,000  and  the  estimated  value  of  the 
production  for  19 14  is  somewhere  between  ^15,000,000 
and  ^20,000,000.  The  valley  raises  cotton  of  fine  quali- 
ty and  the  output  this  year  will  be  60,000  bales.  Of 
alfalfa,  barley,  and  corn,  the  value  is  ^3,750,000;  of 
cattle,  horses,  mules,  sheep  and  hogs  raised,  the  value 
is  over  ^2,000,000;  18,000  pounds  of  butter  a  day  is 
produced,  and  Imperial  is  the  second  county  in  the 
state  in  this  product.  Dates  are  being  grown  at 
Holtville  and  Heber,  and  fine  stock  of  African  and 
Persian  Gulf  varieties  are  being  planted.  The  fruit 
and  vegetable  output  for  the  year  will  amount  to  over 
$1,000,000;  the  cantaloupe  crop  alone  being  3,400  cars. 
Apricots,  peaches,  plums,  almonds,  pears,  figs,  and  all 
the  citrus  fruits  grow  to  perfection  and  are  the  first 
in  the  market.  The  season  is  long,  the  climate  warm 
and  dry,  and  the  soil  is  inexhaustible.  These  state- 
ments may  be  taken  as  a  reply  to  the  unfavorable 
reports  and  the  harsh  criticisms  of  the  experts  of 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the 
officials  of  the  Reclamation  Service.  It  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  the  enterprise  was  undertaken  with  insuffi- 


THE  COLORADO  DESERT  443 

cient  funds  for  a  project  of  that  magnitude;  that 
speculators  acquired  large  tracts  of  land  which  they 
sold  to  settlers  at  high  figures;  that  the  lawyers  have 
reaped  undue  rewards  in  the  harvest  of  litigation  which 
followed  the  settlement,  and  that  many  of  the  original 
settlers,  after  untold  hardships,  have  had  to  give  up 
and  leave,  as  has  been  charged;  but  when  one  thinks 
of  the  waste  howling  wilderness,  of  the  desert  whose 
trails  were  lined  with  the  bones  of  its  victims,  surely 
the  transformation  is  great:  the  world  has  seen  nothing 
like  it.  All  honor  to  those  who  endured  the  heat,  the 
toil,  and  the  suffering  in  their  efforts  to  redeem  the 
land,  and  to  those  who  harnessed  the  mighty  river 
and  compelled  it  to  do  their  will. 

(The  main  facts  in  regard  to  the  development  companies  are 
furnished  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Cory,  member  of  the  American  Society 
of  Civil  Engineers,  in  a  paper  on  Irrigation  and  River  Control  in 
the  Colorado  River  Delta,  in  Transactions  of  the  Society,  Paper 
No.  1270,  Volume  LXXXI,  p.  1204. 

Acknowledgment  is  also  due  to  Mr.  Arthur  P.  Davis  of  the 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service,  Article  in  National  Geographic  Maga- 
zine for  January,  1907;  to  Mr.  W.  C.  Mendenhall,  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  Article  in  National  Geographic  Magazine  for  August, 
1909,  and  to  Mr.  Andrew  M.  ChafFey  of  Los  Angeles.) 


CHAPTER  XL 

INDIAN  AFFAIRS— POLITICAL  HISTORY 

1769-1914 


IN  the  intercourse  between  the  aborigines  of 
California  and  the  white  men,  the  Indians,  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  United  States,  have  been  the 
sufferers.  It  matters  little  whether  the  white  men 
were  of  the  Spanish  race  or  the  English — or  rather 
American:  with  the  principal  indictment  perhaps 
against  the  latter.  While  the  good  padres  made  con- 
verts of  the  mild  and  unwarlike  tribes  of  the  coast, 
they  also  made  slaves  of  them  and  though  they  did  not 
shoot  them  down,  the  mortality  among  the  neophytes 
of  the  missions  was  frightful.  But  the  missionary 
efforts  never  extended  to  the  wild  Indians  of  the  moun- 
tains or  of  the  Tulares  who  waged  unceasing  war  against 
them  and  called  out  many  punitive  excursions  of  pre- 
sidial  troops.  These  latter  sometimes  degenerated  into 
mere  expeditions  for  the  capture  of  recruits  to  the  ranks 
of  neophytes  and  slaves,  and  in  return  they  provoked 
raids  upon  the  missions  and  settlers  by  the  more  war- 
like of  the  natives.  With  the  coming  of  the  gold  immi- 
gration there  was  further  outrage  committed.  The 
savages  were  in  the  way  and  the  miners  were  frequently 
brutal  in  their  treatment  of  them.  This  was  resented 
by  the  Indians  and  mistreatment  of  their  women  by 
white  men  was  the  cause  of  several  "  massacres."  Such 
was  the  case  at  Kelseyville  (Clear  Lake)  where,  in  1849, 
Kelsey  and  Stone  were  killed  by  Indians,  as  they 
deserved  to  be,  and  when  Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon 
with  a  company  of  United  States  troops  was  sent  to 
punish  the  Indians  for  the  "murders,"  his  report  shows 
that  he  killed  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  savages. 
It  was  also  the  cause  of  the  Piute  War  in  Nevada  (then 
Utah  Territory)  in  which  a  number  of  Californians  lost 


448  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

their  lives.  Some  white  men  caught  five  or  six  Piute 
women  and  kept  them  locked  in  their  cabin  for  a  week. 
The  Piutes,  a  tribe  of  brave  and  warlike  Indians,  took 
terrible  vengeance  for  the  outrage  done  them. 

The  early  immigrants  who  crossed  the  plains  found 
the  Indians  friendly.  This  is  the  testimony  of  John 
Bidwell,  Edwin  Bryant,  and  others.  In  later  years 
the  Indians,  owing  to  ill-treatment  by  the  immigrants, 
became  very  hostile,  hovering  about  the  immigrant  par- 
ties, stealing  their  stock  and  sometimes  committing 
murder;  and  the  hatred  for  Indians  acquired  by  the 
immigrants  on  the  plains  was  extended  to  the  milder 
aborigines  of  California  whom  they  designated  by  the 
contemptuous  term  of  "Diggers."  This  name  had 
originally  been  applied  by  the  Blackfeet  Indians  to  the 
Shoshone  or  Snake  Indians  as  a  term  of  reproach, 
because  they  subsisted  largely  upon  roots,  instead  of 
following  the  more  lordly  vocation,  the  chase.  The 
term  was  adopted  by  the  mountain  men  and  trappers, 
as  an  expression  of  contempt,  and  soon  by  the  immi- 
grants who  applied  it  as  well  to  the  California  Indians, 
neither  knowing  nor  caring  whether  the  appellative 
fitted  them  or  not.  There  are,  in  fact,  no  Digger 
Indians  in  California. 

Numberless  outrages  were  committed  upon  the 
Indians  of  the  northern  part  of  California  by  the  rough 
hunters  and  trappers  coming  from  Oregon,  many  of 
whom  made  it  a  rule  to  kill  an  Indian  whenever  oppor- 
tunity offered.  One  of  Fremont's  men  in  his  statement 
says:  "We  followed  up  the  Sacramento,  killing  plenty 
of  game  and  an  occasional  Indian.     Of  the  latter  we 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         449 

made  it  a  rule  to  spare  none  of  the  bucks."*  John 
Bidwell  says  that  Ezekiel  Merritt,  commander  of  the 
Bear  Flag  party,  whom  Fremont  says  was  his  field  lieu- 
tenant, boasted  of  his  prowess  in  killing  Indians,  and 
the  handle  of  the  tomahawk  he  carried  had  nearly  a 
hundred  notches  to  record  the  number  of  his  Indian 
scalps. t  The  fiercer  tribes  of  the  north  repaid  these 
outrages  with  interest  and  the  United  States  troops  as 
well  as  volunteer  parties  organized  among  the  settlers 
were  sent  to  exterminate  them,  and  the  white  men  usu- 
ally shot  down  all  the  Indians  they  met  without  con- 
sidering whether  they  were  innocent  or  guilty.  The 
United  States  government  took  early  account  of  the 
condition  of  their  wards  in  California  and  in  1847  ap- 
pointed agents  to  care  for  and  watch  over  them.  These 
agents  reported  that  the  outbreaks  of  the  Indians  were 
usually  the  result  of  injury  to  or  outrage  upon  them 
by  white  men.  Edward  F.  Beale,  who  came  as  passed 
midshipman  of  the  Congress,  and  later  was  lieutenant 
of  the  California  battalion,  was  made  superintendent 
of  Indian  affairs  in  California,  and  in  1852  reported 
that  Indians  were  caught  like  cattle  for  the  work  season, 
and  then  turned  adrift;  and  that  out  of  one  band  so 
treated  eighteen  died  of  starvation;  that  it  was  also 
common  to  kidnap  children  and  enslave  them;  and 
early  writers  tell  terrible  tales  of  the  treatment  of 
Indians  by  miners.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
repeated  outrages  upon  them  very  often  justified  the 
rising  of  the  Indians  and  it  was  not  infrequently  the  case 


•Thomas  S.  Martin,  Narrative  of  Fremont's  Expedition,  1845-47^  MS.,  Bancroft 
Library. 

^Century  Magazine,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  $2^. 


450  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

that  in  the  fights  with  the  forces  sent  against  them  the 
Indians  were  victorious — particularly  the  warUke  tribes 
of  the  north — the  Klamaths,  the  Modocs,  and  the  Pitt 
River  Indians. 

The  Indian  troubles  in  California  are  past,  chiefly 
through  the  extermination  of  most  of  the  Indians.  The 
few  left  are,  as  a  rule,  civilized — that  is,  they  wear  the 
cast  off  clothing  and  work  at  the  odd  jobs  of  the  whites 
in  their  localities. 

The  debates  in  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1878-9,  which  were  published  from  day  to  day,  at- 
tracted great  attention  and  awakened  in  the  public 
mind  a  desire  for  freedom  from  the  humiliating  rule 
of  Kearneyism  which  had  for  more  than  two  years 
dominated  the  people.  The  legislature  elected  to  carry 
into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  new  constitution  was 
cautious  and  conservative.  The  Workingmen's  party 
held  a  convention,  at  which  Denis  Kearney  presided, 
and  nominated  a  full  state  and  legislative  ticket.  In 
the  legislature  the  Republicans  predominated  with  the 
Workingmen  in  the  second  place,  while  in  the  guber- 
natorial contest  the  Workingmen's  candidate  came  in 
third;  George  C.  Perkins,  the  Republican  nominee, 
having  a  plurality  of  twenty  thousand.  Perkins  was  a 
prosperous  merchant  and  was  born  in  Maine,  August 
23,  1839.  He  had  come  to  California,  a  sailor  boy  of 
sixteen,  and  after  a  few  months  at  the  mines  went  to 
Oroville  where  he  obtained  employment  as  porter  in  a 
general  merchandise  store  of  which  he  afterwards 
became  owner.  In  1872  he  became  a  partner  in  the 
San  Francisco  firm  of  Goodall  and  Nelson,  afterwards 
known  as  Goodall,  Nelson,  and  Perkins,  a  large  com- 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         451 

mission  and  shipping  house,  owners  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
Steamship  company  and  other  lines.  He  served  three 
terms  in  the  state  senate,  the  full  term  as  governor  as 
provided  in  the  new  constitution,  and  in  1893  was 
appointed  United  States  senator  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  Leland  Stanford.  Mr.  Perkins 
has  been  regularly  reelected  and  will  have  completed 
his  last  term,  March  4,  1915,  and  retire,  full  of  years, 
to  be  succeeded  by  James  D.  Phelan,  Democrat,  and 
former  mayor  of  San  Francisco. 

Denis  Kearney  made  his  last  appearance  in  the 
political  arena  during  the  legislative  session  of  1880, 
when  he  made  himself  obnoxious,  was  ruled  off  the  floor 
of  the  assembly,  denied  the  privilege  of  the  galleries, 
halls,  committee  rooms,  and  all  other  rooms  for  the  rest 
of  the  session,  and  directions  were  given  to  see  that 
the  resolution  was  enforced,  not  only  during  the  hours 
of  the  session  but  during  all  hours  and  at  all  times.* 
That  was  the  end;  he  passed  out  of  the  lime  light  and 
men  knew  him  no  more.  He  died  in  Alameda  county, 
April  24,1907. 

Although  Kearney  had  been  eliminated  his  candidate 
for  mayor  of  San  Francisco,  Isaac  S.  Kalloch,  a  Baptist 
preacher  of  somewhat  unsavory  antecedents,  was 
elected  by  the  Workingmen's  party.  Kalloch  preached 
Sunday  evenings  at  the  Metropolitan  Temple  on  Fifth 
street,  where,  it  is  said,  he  devoted  fifteen  minutes  to 
religion  and  forty-five  to  politics.  Admission  tickets 
were  sold  at  the  box  office  in  the  vestibule,  price  ten 
cents,  and  the  house  was  usually  well  filled.     During 

*Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.  IF,  p.  654. 


452  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  campaign  the  San  Francisco  "'Chronicle,"  pub- 
lished by  Charles  and  Michael  H.  de  Young,  attacked 
Kalloch  and  made  damaging  statements  against 
him.  Kalloch  replied  from  his  pulpit  making  some 
scurrilous  remarks  concerning  the  women  of  the  De 
Young  family.  Resenting  this  attack  Charles  de  Young 
on  August  26,  1879,  drove  to  Kalloch's  study  in  the 
Metropolitan  Temple,  and  calling  him  out,  shot  and 
seriously  wounded  him.  The  assault  on  their  candidate 
was  skilfully  used  by  the  Workingmen,  and  Kalloch 
was  elected  mayor  by  a  large  majority.  De  Young  was 
charged  with  assault  with  intent  to  kill  and  in  prepara- 
tion for  his  defense  he  sent  east  and  had  Kalloch's 
record  looked  up.  Some  evidence  very  damaging  to 
Kalloch's  character  was  obtained  and  fearing  the  effect 
of  this  if  produced  in  court,  the  mayor's  son,  Isaac  M. 
Kalloch,  went  to  the  Chronicle  office  April  23,  1880, 
and  shot  Charles  de  Young  to  death.  Young  Kalloch 
was  tried  for  murder  and  acquitted.  Mr.  James  Bryce 
comments  on  this,  saying:  "He  had  only  done  what 
the  customary  law  of  primitive  peoples  requires.  It 
survives  in  Albania,  and  is  scarcely  extinct  in  Corsica"* 
— a  little  severe,  I  think,  on  California:  as  like  pro- 
ceedings could  have  taken  place  in  England,  and  a 
similar  affair  has  recently  occurred  in  France:  witness, 
the  Cailliaux  case. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  Chinese  question  loomed 
that  of  the  railroad.  The  new  constitution  provided 
for  a  railroad  commission  of  three  to  be  elected  by  the 
people  and  gave  them  full  power  to  regulate  freights 

*The  American  Commonwfalth,  Vol.  II,  p.  ^94. 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         453 

and  fares.  The  first  commissioners  were  Joseph  S. 
Cone,  Charles  J.  Beerstecher,  and  George  Stoneman. 
This  commission  accomplished  nothing  for  the  people 
who,  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  their  experiment, 
demanded  an  investigation  of  the  conduct  of  the  office. 
The  committee  of  the  assembly  (legislature  of  1883) 
reported  that  the  commission  had  not  properly  attended 
to  its  duties;  that  Cone,  though  wealthy  before,  had 
received  deeds  for  large  tracts  of  land  from  the  railroad 
company,  and  that  Beerstecher  had  gone  into  ofiice 
poor  and  had  come  out  comparatively  rich;  that  Stone- 
man  had  made  an  attempt  to  accomplish  something  in 
the  way  of  regulating  freights  and  fares  but  had  been 
defeated  by  his  colleagues.*  George  Stoneman  was 
born  in  New  York  state  and  graduated  from  West  Point 
in  1846.  He  came  to  California  as  lieutenant  and 
assistant  quartermaster  of  the  Mormon  battalion; 
served  in  California  until  1853  when  he  was  ordered 
to  Texas.  He  fought  through  the  Civil  War,  became 
a  major-general  and  a  great  cavalry  leader.  He  did 
not  succeed  in  accomplishing  anything  as  a  railroad 
commissioner,  but  his  stand  for  the  people  made  him  a 
popular  hero  and  he  was  elected  governor  of  California 
in  1882  to  serve  four  years  from  January,  1883,  accord- 
ing to  the  term  provided  in  the  constitution.  Although 
Stoneman  was  a  gallant  cavalry  ofiiicer,  his  career  as 
railroad  commissioner  and  as  governor  added  nothing 
to  his  fame.  The  succeeding  railroad  commission  was 
no  better  than  the  first,  the  railroad  possessing  two 
of  the  three  members,  and  there  was  no  change  in  this 

*Hittell,  History  of  California,  Vol.,  IV,  p.  677. 


454  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

condition  until  the  advent  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
commission  took  the  matter  of  freights  and  fares  out  of 
their  hands,  so  far  as  business  originating  in  or  con- 
signed to  states  other  than  California  was  concerned. 
An  interesting  event  during  Stoneman's  reign  was 
the  election  of  a  United  States  senator  to  succeed 
James  T.  Farley,  whose  term  would  expire  March  4, 
1885.  It  was  understood  among  the  railroad  people 
that  Aaron  A.  Sargent,  who  had  been  so  useful  to  them 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  had  drawn  and  engineered 
through  congress  the  Pacific  Railroad  bill  of  1862,  was 
to  go  to  the  senate.  Sargent  had  also  managed  a  bill 
before  congress  to  secure  for  a  railroad  terminus  the 
island  of  Yerba  Buena,  off  the  foot  of  Market  street, 
San  Francisco,  a  measure  that  was  only  beaten  by  a 
hard  fight  lasting  three  years.  Sargent  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  born  in  1827,  and  came  to  California 
in  1849.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854  and  in 
1861-2  was  a  member  of  congress.  In  1871  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator  to  succeed  Cornelius  Cole, 
serving  from  1873  to  1879.  At  a  meeting  of  the  railroad 
men,  attended  by  Leland  Stanford,  Charles  Crocker, 
Collis  P.  Huntington,  and  Aaron  A.  Sargent,  the  matter 
was  arranged  and  agreed  to  by  all  that  Sargent,  who 
was  a  warm  personal  friend  of  all,  should  represent 
them  in  the  United  States  senate.  But  it  was  decided 
in  the  Republican  caucus  that  Stanford  should  be  put 
forward  and  when  the  nominations  came  to  be  made, 
January  27,  1885,  Sargent's  name  was  not  mentioned. 
This  reward  for  long  and  faithful  service  broke  Sargent's 
heart.     It  is  said  that  Stanford  did  not  contemplate 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         455 

being  a  candidate  until  he  became  convinced  that 
Sargent  could  not  be  elected.  "It  had  long  been 
Stanford's  wish,"  says  Brancroft,  "that  the  choice 
should  fall  on  A.  A.  Sargent,  and  this  selection  he  con- 
stantly urged  on  his  friends.  Only  after  frequent  pro- 
tests and  remonstrances  did  he  accept  the  appointment, 
in  deference  to  his  party's  opinion."*  However  that 
may  be,  his  protests  and  remonstrances  were  not  made 
sufficiently  loud  to  reach  the  ears  of  his  partners,  one 
of  whom,  at  least,  was  not  aware  of  what  was  going  on 
until  the  caucus  decision  was  made  known.  Stanford 
was  ever  surrounded  by  a  clique  or  coterie  of  flatterers 
and  base  sycophants  who  had  no  difficulty  in  advancing 
their  own  fortunes  by  feeding  his  prodigious  vanity. 
But  Huntington  never  forgave  his  treachery  and  when 
he  concluded  that  the  time  was  right,  pushed  Stanford 
out  of  the  presidency  of  the  Southern  Pacific  company.! 
The  election  to  the  United  States  senate  of  the  president 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  created  in  the  state  a  strong 
feeling  in  favor  of  the  election  of  senators  by  direct 
vote  of  the  people,  though  it  was  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  before  this  sentiment  crystallized  into  law. 
Stanford  served  his  full  term;  was  reelected  in  1891  and 
died  in  ofiice,  June  21,  1893. 

During  Stoneman's  administration  the  matter  of 
irrigation  came  into  prominence  by  reason  of  a  decision 
of  the  supreme  court  confirming  the  doctrine  of  ripa- 
rian rights,  as  defined  under  the  common  law,  whereby 
the  owner  of  land  on  the  bank  of  the  stream  was  entitled 


*History  of  California,  Vol.  VII,  -p.  431-2. 

fOn  April  9,  1890,  Stanford  resigned  the  presidenqr  of  the  Southern  Pacific  and 
became  chairman  of  the  executive  committee.    His  successor  was  C.  P.  Huntington. 


456  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

to  the  full,  undiverted  flow  of  the  stream  in  front  of  his 
property,  irrespective  of  irrigation  or  other  needs  of 
non  riparian  proprietors.  Under  the  sanction  of  long 
continued  custom  which  had  treated  the  flowing  waters 
of  the  state  as  public  property  and  dedicated  them  to 
common  use,  a  system  of  irrigation  had  grown  up  under 
which  large  areas  of  desert  wastes  had  been  converted 
into  orchards  and  vineyards,  creating  millions  of  taxable 
property.*  The  decision  of  the  court  struck  con- 
sternation into  the  ranks  of  the  irrigationists  and 
the  governor  was  besieged  to  call  an  extra  session  of  the 
legislature  in  hopes  of  gaining  thereby  some  relief  for 
them  from  the  riparian  rights  doctrine.  An  extra  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  was  called  for  July  20,  1886,  but 
beyond  the  introduction  of  a  number  of  bills  for  relief 
of  the  agriculturists  nothing  was  done.  A  perfect  flood 
of  petitions  and  protests  from,  all  parts  of  the  state 
poured  in  upon  the  legislators  and  it  was  realized  that 
the  subject  required  careful  deliberation  and  digestion 
before  an  effective  remedy  could  be  devised.  Under  the 
decisions  of  the  courts  a  conflict  had  arisen.  The  Civil 
Code,  1873,  declared  that,  as  between  proprietors,  the 
first  in  time  was  the  first  in  right,  a  declaration  which 
appeared  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  riparian  rights 
decision. 

Stoneman's  successor  was  Washington  Bartlett,  a 
lawyer  and  journalist  of  San  Francisco,  born  in  Georgia 
in  1824  and  a  pioneer  of  1849.  Bartlett  did  not  live 
long  after  his  election  but  died  September  12,  1887,  and 
Robert   W.    Waterman,    elected   lieutenant   governor, 

*This  question  is  fully  discussed  in  the  paper  on  Conservation  by  Hon.  George 
C.  Pardee  in  Vol.  V,  p.  363. 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY 


457 


succeeded  him.  Waterman  served  out  the  balance  of 
the  term  and  was  succeeded  by  Henry  H.  Markham 
of  Los  Angeles,  who  had  served  a  term  in  congress  as 
representative  from  the  sixth  district  of  California, 
1884-5. 

The  governors  of  California  have  been: 
Spanish  period: 


Caspar  de  Portola 

Felipe  Barri 

Felipe  de  Neve 

Pedro  Fages 

Jose  Antonio  Romeu 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga,  ad  interim 

Diego  de  Borica 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga 

Jose  Dario  Argiiello,  ad  interim 

Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola 

Mexican  period: 
Luis  Antonio  Argiiello 
Jose  Maria  de  Echeandia 
Manuel  Victoria 
Pio  Pico,  ad  interim 
Jose  Figueroa 
Jose  Castro,  ad  interim 
Nicolas  Cutierrez,  ad  interim 
Mariano  Chico 
Nicolas  Cutierrez,  ad  interim 
Juan  Bautista  Alvarado 
Manuel  Micheltorena 
Pio  Pico 

Military  rule: 
John  D.  Sloat 
Robert  F.  Stockton 
*Stephen  W.  Kearny 


1767-1771 
1771-1774 
I 774-1 782 
I 782-1 790 
I 790-1 792 
I 792-1 794 
I 794-1 800 
1800-1814 
1814-1815 
1815-1823 

1823-1826 
1 826-1 83 1 
1831-1832 
1832-1833 

1833-1835 
1835-1836 
1836-4  months 
1836-4  months 
1836-3  months 
1836-1842 
I 842-1 845 
I 845-1 846 


July  7-29,  1846 

July-December,  1846 

December,  1846-May,  1847 


*We  have  treated  General  Kearny  as  governor  of  California  from  December  12, 
1846,  the  date  he  arrived  at  San  Diego,  that  being  in  accord  with  his  instructions 
from  the  war  department.  Fremont  cannot  be  considered  as  governor  of  California, 
notwithstanding  Stockton's  commission  of  January  16,  1847 — Stockton  having  no 
authority  to  issue  such  a  commission,  Kearny,  senior  officer  of  both,  being  in  the 
province. 


458              HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Richard  B.  Mason 

May, 

1847-April,  1849 

Bennet  Riley 

April,  1849- 

-December,  1849 

State  government: 

Peter  H.  Burnett 

1 849-1 85 1  Resigned 

John  McDougal 

1851-1852 

John  Bigler 

1852-1855 

J.  Neeley  Johnson 

1855-1858 

John  B.  Weller 

1858-1860 

Milton  S.  Latham 

1 860- 1 860  Resigned 

John  G.  Downey 

I 860-1 862 

Leland  Stanford 

I 862-1 863 

Frederick  F.  Low 

I 863-1 867 

Henry  H.  Haight 

I 867-1 87 I 

Newton  Booth 

1871-1875  Resigned 

Romauldo  Facheco 

1875-1875 

William  Irwin 

1875-1880 

George  C.  Perkins 

1880-1883 

George  Stoneman 

1883-1887 

Washington  Bartlett 

1887-1887 

Robert  W.  Waterman 

1887-1891 

Henry  H,  Markham 

1891-1895 

James  H.  Budd 

I 895-1 899 

Henry  T.  Gage 

I 899-1 903 

George  C.  Pardee 

I 903-1 907 

James  N.  Gillett 

1907-1911 

Hiram  W.  Johnson 

1911 

The  senators  of  the  United  States  for  California : 

The  legislature  of  1850  elected  William  M.  Gwin  and 
John  C.  Fremont.  The  admission  bill  was  approved 
September  9,  1850,  and  two  days  later  the  California 
senators  were  seated,  Gwin  having  drawn  the  long  term. 
The  junior  senator  (Fremont)  only  occupied  his  seat 
for  about  three  weeks,  having  hastened  to  California 
to  look  after  his  reelection,  and  did  not  attend  the 
second  session  of  the  thirty-first  congress.  The  second 
California  legislature  met  in  January,  1851,  and  ballot- 
ing for  senator  began  February  i8th,  the  candidates 
being   John    C.    Fremont,    Soloman   Heydenfeldt,   T. 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         459 

Butler  King,  John  W.  Geary,  John  B.  Weller,  and 
James  A.  ColUer.  The  whole  number  of  votes  was 
forty-nine:  necessary  to  a  choice  twenty-five.  Fremont 
received  eight  votes  on  the  first  ballot.  The  times  had 
changed  since  the  days  of  the  Bear  Flag  war,  and  the 
mock  heroics  and  the  Napoleonic  dispatches  of  the 
young  "conqueror"  of  California  failed  to  fire  the  imag- 
ination of  the  legislators  of  1851.  Sixteen  votes  was 
the  highest  point  Fremont  reached  and  after  taking 
one  hundred  and  forty-two  ballots  the  legislature  ad- 
journed without  electing  a  senator.  In  1852  John  B. 
Weller  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  On  the  expira- 
tion of  Gwin's  term  the  legislatures  of  1855  and  1856 
failed  to  elect  a  successor,  and  in  1857  Gwin  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  1 859,  after  the  death  of  Broderick, 
Henry  P.  Haun,  a  pioneer  who  crossed  the  plains  in 
1849,  was  appointed  by  Governor  Weller  and  served 
until  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  in  i860,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Milton  S.  Latham,  a  Lecompton 
Democrat,  who  had  been  inaugurated  governor  of 
California  the  day  before  he  was  elected  senator.  Four 
senators  have  died  in  ofiice,  viz.:  David  C.  Broderick, 
September  16,  1859;  John  F.  Miller,  March  8,  1886; 
George  Hearst,  February  28,  1891,  and  Leland  Stanford 
June  21,  1893. 

Following  is  the  list  of  senators : 

John  C.  Fremont  1 850-1 851 

William  M.  Gwin  1850-1855 

David  C.  Broderick  1857-1859 

Henry  P.  Haun  1 859-1 861 

James  A.  McDougall  1 861-1867 

Milton  S.  Latham  1 861-1863 

John  Conness  1 863-1 869 


460 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


Cornelius  Cole 
Eugene  Casserly 

John  S.  Hager 

Aaron  A.  Sargent 
Newton  Booth 
James  T.  Farley 
John  F.  Miller 
George  Hearst 

A.  P.  Williams 

Leland  Stanford 
George  Hearst 
Charles  N.  Felton 

Leland  Stanford 
George  C.  Perkins 

Stephen  M.  White 
George  C.  Perkins 
Thomas  R.  Bard 


George  C.  Perkins 
Frank  P.  Flint 
George  C.  Perkins 
John  D.  Works 


I 867-1 873 

1 869-1 873  Resigned,  November 

28,  1873  _ 
1 873-1 875  Served  remainder  of 

term 
1873-1879 
1875-1881 
I 879-1 885 

1881-1886  Died  in  office 
1 886-1 886  Appointed  to  fill 

vacancy 
Elected  for  balance  of 


I 886-1 887 

term 
1885-1891 

1 887-1 891  Died  in  office 
1 891-1893  Appointed  to  fill 

vacancy 
1 891-1893  Died  in  office 
1 893-1 897  Appointed  for  balance 

of  term 
I 893-1 899 
I 897- I 903 
1900-1905  Legislature  of  1899 

failed  to  elect 

successor  to  White 
I 903 -I 909 
1905-1911 
1909- 
1911- 


Romauldo  Pacheco  was  the  only  governor  of  Cali- 
fornia of  Spanish  blood  after  the  American  conquest. 
He  had  served  in  the  assembly,  state  senate,  as  county 
treasurer,  and  county  judge,  and  was  elected  lieutenant- 
governor  on  the  ticket  with  Newton  Booth.  Booth 
resigned  in  January,  1875,  to  become  United  States 
Senator  and  Pacheco  succeeded  to  the  governorship, 
serving  to  December  31,  1875.  He  served  two  terms 
as  member  of  congress,  1878  to  1882.  He  was  a  son  of 
Captain  Romauldo  Pacheco  who  came  with  Echeandia 
in   1826,  as  aide-de-camp;   was  killed  in  a  fight  with 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         461 

a  party  of  insurgents  December  5,  183 1 ;  and  whose  wife 
was  the  beautiful  Ramona  Carrillo  of  San  Diego, 
afterward  married  to  Captain  John  Wilson. 

In  191 1  suffrage  was  granted  to  women  in  California 
and  the  state  adopted  the  Initiative,  Referendum,  and 
Recall.  The  Initiative  provides  that  upon  presentation 
of  a  petition  signed  by  the  qualified  electors  of  the  state 
equal  to  eight  per  cent  of  all  the  votes  cast  for  all  the 
candidates  for  governor  at  the  last  preceding  election 
at  which  a  governor  was  elected,  any  proposed  law  or 
amendment  to  the  constitution,  set  forth  in  full  in  said 
petition,  shall  be  submitted  by  the  secretary  of  state 
to  the  electors  at  the  next  succeeding  general  or  special 
election  occurring  ninety  days  subsequent  to  the 
presentation  of  the  petition. 

The  Referendum  provides  that  upon  a  petition  signed 
by  five  per  cent  of  the  qualified  electors  of  the  state 
no  act  or  portion  of  act  of  the  legislature,  except  acts 
calling  for  elections,  providing  for  taxes,  for  current 
expenses,  or  for  measures  for  preservation  of  the  public 
peace,  health,  or  safety,  shall  go  into  effect  until  and 
unless  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  qualified  electors 
voting  thereon;  and  no  act,  or  law,  or  amendment  to 
the  constitution  initiated  or  adopted  by  the  people 
shall  be  subject  to  veto  by  the  governor,  and  can  only 
be  amended  or  repealed  by  a  vote  of  the  electors  unless 
otherwise  provided  in  said  initiative. 

The  Recall  provides  that  any  official  may  be  removed 
from  office  at  any  time  by  the  electors  entitled  to  vote 
for  a  successor  to  such  incumbent.  The  petition  for 
recall  must  be  signed  by  qualified  electors  equal  to 
twelve  per  cent  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  the  preceding 


462  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

election  for  all  the  candidates  for  said  office,  provided, 
that  no  recall  shall  be  made  within  six  months  following 
the  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duty  by  such 
official,  except  in  the  case  of  a  legislator,  a  petition  for 
whose  recall  may  be  made  five  days  after  his  taking 
office. 

In  the  elections  of  November,  19 14,  seventeen 
initiative  measures  were  submitted  to  the  electors — 
eight  being  proposed  amendments  to  the  constitution, 
and  nine  adding  to  the  penal  code  and  statutes.  Of 
these  six  were  adopted  and  eleven  rejected.  The  most 
important  of  these  proposed  measures:  that  providing 
for  a  compulsory  eight  hour  law,  making  it  a  misde- 
meanor punishable  by  fine  or  imprisonment  or  both 
for  an  employer  to  require  or  permit,  or  to  suffer  an 
agent  to  require  or  permit,  any  person  in  his  employ 
to  work  more  than  eight  hours  in  one  day,  except  in 
case  of  extraordinary  emergency  caused  by  fire,  flood, 
or  danger  to  life  or  property,  was  rejected  by  568,881 
negative  votes  out  of  a  total  of  811,573.  Another, 
providing  for  state  wide  prohibition  and  prescribing 
penalties  for  violation  of  same,  was  defeated  by  542,781 
negative  votes  out  of  a  total  of  908,317. 

Four  measures  adopted  by  the  legislature  were 
submitted  by  referendum  to  the  electors  at  this  election. 
Of  these,  three  of  the  laws  were  confirmed  and  one  was 
rejected. 

In  the  matter  of  the  initiative  a  few  interested 
individuals  can,  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  activity, 
obtain  sufficient  signatures  to  a  petition  to  cause  such 


INDIANS— POLITICAL  HISTORY         463 

a  law  or  amendment  as  they  may  wish  to  see  written 
into  the  constitution  or  the  statutes,  submitted  to  the 
people.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  even  if  they  have  sufficient  intelligence, 
have  neither  the  training  nor  the  time  to  devote  to  the 
study  of  such  a  proposed  measure,  supposing  them  to 
have  the  inclination  to  do  so.  At  the  election  of 
November  3,  1914,  in  addition  to  a  state,  senatorial, 
and  congressional  ticket,  there  were  forty-eight  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution,  the  laws  and  the  referendum 
to  be  voted  upon.  Outside  of  a  few  measures  like  the 
prohibition,  eight  hour  law,  etc.,  which  are  easily  under- 
stood, it  is  doubtful  whether  the  mass  of  the  electorate 
could  form  much  idea  of  the  merit  or  otherwise  of  many 
of  the  proposed  laws.  Legislatures  may  be  improperly 
influenced  to  pass  bad  laws,  but  what  can  be  worse 
than  a  mass  of  undigested  and  indigestible  laws  put  on 
the  statute  books  through  the  initiative  of  the  people? 
The  body  politic  cannot,  with  profit,  be  turned  into  a 
body  of  law  makers. 

On  May  17,  1913,  was  approved  an  alien  land  bill, 
providing  that  aliens  not  eligible  to  citizenship  can  only 
hold  land  in  California  in  the  manner  provided  by  the 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  the  country  of 
which  such  alien  is  a  citizen  or  subject.  The  passage 
of  this  bill  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  federal 
government  but  the  opposition  did  not  prevail. 

By  an  amendment  to  the  Political  Code  of  California, 
approved  May  27,  191 3,  election  of  United  States 
senators   by   the   people   was    adopted.      Thus,    after 


1 


464  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

nearly  thirty  years'  agitation  has  a  great  reform  been 
accompHshed.  The  first  election  under  this  act  was 
held  November  3,  1914,  and  James  D.  Phelan,  a  Demo- 
crat, a  former  mayor  of  San  Francisco,  and  an  able 
and  patriotic  citizen  was  elected  receiving  279,896 
votes  to  255,232  for  Francis  J.  Heney,  Progressive,  and 
254,159  for  Joseph  R.  Knowland,  Republican. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY 


UNDER  the  rule  of  Spain  colonization  in 
California  proceeded  very  slowly.  The  king 
owned  all  the  lands,  recognizing  the  rights 
of  the  aborigines  to  such  lands  as  might  be 
needed  for  their  support  and  held  by  the  missionary 
priests  in  trust  for  them,  and  it  was  not  until  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  that  steps  were  taken  to 
reduce  the  public  lands  to  private  ownership.  Some 
grants  of  land  were  made  to  soldiers  and  thus  was  begun 
the  establishment  of  property  in  California.  Up  to  this 
time  the  country  was  a  wilderness  inhabited  by  roving 
savages,  with  here  and  there  on  the  coast  a  little  group 
of  soldiers  and  a  few  missionary  priests.  Instead  of 
deriving  an  income  from  his  province  of  California,  the 
king  had  to  support  the  troops  and  the  missionaries 
with  the  help  of  such  supplies  of  grain,  beef,  and  fruits 
as  the  missions  could  contribute  to  the  presidios. 
Colonel  Costanzo,  the  engineer  officer  of  the  Portola 
expedition,  was  sent  to  California  in  1794  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  the  backwardness  of  the  province,  and  he 
reported  that  what  the  country  needed  was  settlers; 
that  priests  and  soldiers  would  do  for  a  time  but  they 
could  not  colonize  the  province;  that  there  was  no  trade, 
and  agriculture  was  confined  to  the  missions  and  the 
few  pobladores  in  the  feeble  pueblos  of  San  Jose  and 
Los  Angeles.  An  effort  was  made  to  attract  settlers 
to  California  but  notwithstanding  liberal  offers  by  the 
government  of  pay,  rations,  land,  and  freedom  from 
taxation,  colonists  would  not  come.  There  was  no 
trade  permitted  and  consequently  no  market  for  the 
output  of  the  farmer;   he   must   sell   his   produce   to 


468  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  military  authorities  at  such  prices  as  they  might 
name,  while  careful  paternalism  imposed  numberless 
restrictions  upon  him. 

From  the  earliest  period  Spain  jealously  guarded  all 
approaches  to  California  and  resented  the  attempt  of 
the  foreigner  to  effect  a  footing.  Los  extrangeros  were 
not  wanted.  The  first  American  who  came  to  California 
was  landed  by  Alejandro  Malaspina,  the  explorer,  at 
Monterey  in  1791.  He  came  to  remain  and  his  burial 
is  recorded  on  the  mission  register,  September  13th  of 
that  year,  under  the  name  of  John  Groem,  son  of  John 
and  Catherine  Groem,  Presbyterians,  of  Boston. 

So  strictly  were  the  king's  orders  regarding  foreigners 
obeyed  that  when  in  1795  a  sailor,  Joseph  O'Cain,  "a 
young  man  of  the  Boston  nation,"  as  the  comandante 
called  him,  landed  at  Santa  Barbara  and  sought  per- 
mission to  remain  in  the  province,  "become  a  Christian, 
and  serve  his  Catholic  majesty,"  he  was  incontinently 
packed  off  to  San  Bias  in  the  transport,  Nuestra  Senora 
Aranzazu,  and  nineteen  years  elapsed  before  another 
attempt  was  made  by  a  foreigner  to  settle  in  California. 
This  was  successful,  but  was  a  rather  involuntary  pro- 
ceeding— three  men  being  landed  at  Monterey  from  the 
Isaac  Todd,  an  armed  English  merchantman,  in  January, 
1 8 14.  They  were  sick  with  scurvy  and  thought  to  be 
dying,  but  one  of  them,  a  boy  of  twenty  named  John 
Gilroy,  was  taken  by  a  kind  hearted  woman  and  nursed 
back  to  health.  Through  the  intercession  of  Captain 
Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega  the  viceroy  permitted  him 
to  remain.  He  was  a  Scotchman  and  his  real  name  was 
John  Cameron,  but  having  run  away  from  home  he  had 
changed  his  name  to  avoid  arrest.     He  was  baptized 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  469 

into  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  and  Ignacio  Ortega,  son 
of  the  pathfinder,  gave  him  his  daughter,  Maria  Clara, 
to  wife,  and  one  sitio*  of  his  rancho  of  San  Isidro. 

The  first  American  to  become  a  citizen  of  California 
was  Thomas  Doak,  of  Boston,  who  came  with  Captain 
Henry  Gyzelaar  on  the  schooner  Lydia  and  deserted 
from  that  vessel  at  Monterey  in  March,  1816.  Doak 
was  baptized  into  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  on 
December  22,  18 16.  He  was  a  carpenter  of  good  habits, 
and  was  married  in  1820,  by  vice- regal  permission,  to 
Maria  Lugarda,  daughter  of  Jose  Mariano  Castro,  in 
the  mission  church  of  San  Juan  Bautista  where  the 
register  shows  his  name  as  Felipe  Santiago  Doc.f  He 
died  about  1848  leaving  a  good  record  and  four  children. 

In  1820  California  had  thirteen  foreigners,  viz:  three 
Americans,  two  Scotchmen,  two  Englishmen,  one  Irish- 
man, one  Russian,  one  Portugese,  and  three  negroes. 
Comandantes  of  presidios  were  obliged  to  report  each 
year  all  foreigners  within  their  various  jurisdictions. 
In  1 82 1  the  port  of  Monterey  was  opened  to  foreign 
trade  and  the  number  of  ships  on  the  coast  increased. 
In  1822  William  A.  Richardson,  an  Englishman,  mate 
of  the  English  whaler  Orion,  left  the  vessel  at  San 
Francisco  and  was  permitted  b}^  Governor  Sola  to 
remain  in  California  on  condition  of  his  teaching  the 
young  Spaniards  the  arts  of  navigation  and  carpentry. 
He  was  baptized,  June  16,  1823,  and  on  May  15, 
1825,  was  married  at  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  to 

*A  sitio  is  one  square  league,  4438.56  acres.  The  town  of  Gilroy  is  on  this 
rancho. 

fit  was  customary  when  adults  were  baptized  to  give  them  new  names.  Doak's 
name  was  Thomas,  but  it  became  Felipe  Santiago  (Philip  James)  and  he  so  appears 
in  the  Monterey  padro7i  of  1836, 


470  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Dona  Maria  Antonia,  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Ignacio 
Martinez,  comandante  of  San  Francisco.  Richardson 
made  the  first  plan  for  the  town  of  Yerba  Buena  (San 
Francisco),  erected  the  first  structure  there  on  what 
was  afterward  Dupont  street,  became  the  owner  of 
the  Sausalito  rancho  in  1836,  and  in  1837  was  captain 
of  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 

In  1822  an  Englishman  named  Robert  Livermore 
deserted  from  the  English  brig.  Colonel  Young,  and  was 
baptized  Juan  Bautista  Roberto.  He  married  Josefa 
Higuera,  a  widow,  and  established  himself  on  the 
Positos  rancho,  in  what  is  now  Livermore  valley,  where 
he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Don  Roberto  died 
in  1858,  leaving  a  good  reputation  and  a  large  family. 

Meanwhile  from  the  north  and  from  the  east  hardy 
bands  of  hunters  and  trappers  were  approaching 
California.  From  the  north,  the  trappers  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  company  came  into  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Sacramento,  while  across  the  burning  sands  of  the  Big 
Basin  came  the  American  hunters.  Most  of  these 
returned,  being  of  too  restless  and  roving  disposition 
to  settle  anywhere;  but  whether  the  foreigners  blew  in 
from  the  sea  or  drifted  across  the  sand,  those  who 
remained  became  assimilated  with  the  Californians, 
learned  their  language,  married  their  daughters, _and 
became,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  the  hijos  del  pais. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  those  who  came  before  1840. 
The  pretty  seiioritas  showed  a  decided  leaning  toward 
Americans,  preferring  those  who  followed  the  sea. 
Joaquin  Carrillo,  of  San  Diego,  had  two  handsome 
daughters  who  married  sailors.  The  beautiful  Josefa 
was  wooed  by  Jose  Maria   Echeandia,  the  governor 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  471 

of  California,  and  also  by  Captain  Henry  D.  Fitch,  of 
Massachusetts,  commander  of  the  Mexican  brig  Maria 
Ester.  The  girl's  father  was  inclined  to  favor  the  gov- 
ernor but  the  girl's  heart  was  captured  by  the  handsome 
Americano  and  she  persuaded  her  father  to  consent  to 
their  union.  A  Dominican  friar  of  Lower  California  was 
engaged  to  marry  them,  but  at  the  last  moment,  after 
the  wedding  guests  had  assembled,  the  friar's  courage 
failed  him  and  he  refused  to  go  on  with  the  ceremony 
as  the  governor  had  sent  his  aide  to  forbid  the  marriage. 
Here  was  a  dilemma,  but  the  Yankee  skipper  was  equal 
to  it.  Off  the  coast  was  not  only  his  own  vessel,  but  the 
Vulture,  commanded  by  his  friend.  Captain  Richard 
Barry.  The  next  night  the  lady's  cousin,  Pio  Pico, 
mounted  on  his  fleetest  steed  took  her  up  on  his  saddle 
and  galloped  swiftly  to  the  shore  at  La  Playa,  where  a 
boat  from  the  Vulture  was  waiting,  and  the  lovers  were 
re-united  on  board.  At  Valparaiso  they  were  married 
and  the  following  year  Fitch  made  his  appearance  in 
command  of  the  Mexican  bark  Leonor,  having  his  wife 
and  infant  son  on  board.  He  was  promptly  arrested 
and  imprisoned  in  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel  while  his 
wife,  taken  from  him,  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  a 
duenna.  After  a  trial,  during  which  Fitch  proved  the 
validity  of  his  marriage,  he  was  released,  his  wife  was 
restored  to  him,  but  he  was  required  to  perform  some 
acts  of  penance,  in  view  of  the  "great  scandal  he 
had  caused  in  the  province,"  and  to  give  a  bell  of  at 
least  fifty  pounds  weight  to  the  church  at  Los  Angeles. 
Another  daughter  of  Joaquin  Carrillo,  Ramona,  whose 
beauty  and  charm  is  so  rapturously  described  by 
Richard  Henry  Dana,  Jr.,  married,  first,  Romauldo 


472  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Pacheco,  who  lost  his  life  in  battle  between  rival  chiefs, 
and  later,  married  Captain  John  Wilson,  master  of  the 
English  brig  Ayacucho,  whose  seamanship  won  the  admi- 
ration of  the  young  Dana.     Wilson  was  a  Scotchman. 

In  1823  Daniel  Hill,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  came 
from  Honolulu  as  "piloto"  of  the  Rover,  Captain  J.  B. 
R.  Cooper.  He  was  baptized  in  1824  as  Daniel  Antonio. 
In  1825  he  was  married  to  Rafaela  Luisa  Sabina,  daugh- 
ter of  Jose  Vicente  de  Ortega,  and  great-granddaughter 
of  the  pathfinder,  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega.  Daniel 
Hill's  daughter,  Rosa  Rafaela  Antonia,  married  Nicholas 
Augustus  Den,  a  3^oung  Irishman  who  came  in  the  Amer- 
ican bark  Kent  in  December,  1836,  landed  at  Monterey, 
and  soon  went  to  Santa  Barbara  where  he  settled  perma- 
nently and  married  Rosa  Hill  in  1843.  He  was  collector 
and  later,  alcalde  of  Santa  Barbara,  grantee  of  Dos  Pueb- 
los, San  Antonio,  and  San  Marcos  ranchos,  and  was 
lessee  of  the  Santa  Barbara  mission.  He  was  a  man  of 
high  character  and  excellent  reputation,  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  district,  and  his  honesty  and  generous 
nature  gained  him  many  friends  while  his  great  influence 
was  ever  exerted  for  the  betterment  of  those  around  him. 

In  1832  the  Mexican  brig  Catalina  put  in  at  Monterey 
and  landed  James  Black,  a  Scotch  sailor  about  twenty- 
six  years  old,  sick  with  typhoid  fever.  On  his  recovery 
he  hunted  for  a  while  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  company, 
became  acquainted  with  Vallejo,  who  induced  him  to 
settle  at  Sonoma  and  gave  him  the  Cafiada  de  la  Jonive 
rancho,  of  two  leagues  (8,877  acres),  which,  after  his 
naturalization  and  marriage  was  regularly  granted  to 
him  in  1 845 .  This  rancho  he  later  exchanged  for  Jasper 
O'Farrell's  interest  in   the  Nicasio   rancho  in   Marin 


NICHOLAS  AUGUSTUS  DEN 
Born  in  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  in  1812;  died  at  Dos 
Pueblos  rancho,  Santa  Barbara  county,  March  3,  1862;  came 
to  California  on  the  American  bark  Kent  and  settled  in  Santa 
Barbara  where  he  was  naturalized  and  married  Rosa  Rafaela 
Antonio,  daughter  of  Daniel  Hill,  great-granddaughter  of 
Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega,  the  Pathfinder  of  the  Portola 
Expedition  of  1769,  of  Jose  Ignacio  Olivera  of  the  same 
expedition,  and  of  Jose  Vicente  Felix  of  the  Anza  Expedition 
of  1776.  Don  Nicolas  became  a  very  prominent  citizen  of 
Santa  Barbara,  held  several  public  offices,  was  a  man  of  the 
highest  reputation,  and  left  an  enviable  record  of  service  to 
his  state  and  community. 


life  in 


ration  of  t  'son  was  a  Scotchma 

In  1823  ve  of  Massachusetts,  car 

-  -he  Rovr-    "  — ^'"'-.  J.  b. 
"821  ar  onio. 

id  great-granddaughter 


in  the  A 
t<jMontert 
dperni 


Wr 


i^Jfe,  an 

1X3 


|s  a  man  <. 


-i.Civj    el    . 

.      __  h  rv-ob _ 

M-  V.--,  le  Hudson's  B 


vho  induced  him 
'  I  de  la  Jonl^ 


a   x\lai 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  473 

county.  In  1850  he  was  judge  and  in  1852-3  was 
assessor.  He  married  Agustina  Sais,  daughter  of  Juan 
Sais,  a  soldier  of  the  San  Francisco  company  who  was 
born  in  Monterey  in  1779.  James  Black's  daughter, 
Maria  Agustina,  became  the  wife  of  Doctor  Galen 
Burdell,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  came  in  1849  as 
doctor  on  the  ship  Duxbury  and  was  the  first  scientific 
dentist  in  San  Francisco. 

Josefa,  daughter  of  Carlos  Antonio  Carrillo,  of  Santa 
Barbara,  married  Captain  William  G.  Dana,  of  Boston, 
master  of  the  Hawaiian  brig  IFaverly;  her  sister,  Encar- 
nacion,  married  Thomas  W.  Robbins,  master  of  the 
schooner  Santa  Barbara;  Manuela  married  John  Coffin 
Jones,  master  of  the  American  bark  Volunteer;  and 
Aiaria  Antonia  married  Lewis  T.  Burton,  a  trapper 
and  trader  who  came  with  the  Wolf  skill  party  in  1831. 
These  were  all  Americans. 

Captain  J.  B.  R.  Cooper  of  Alderney,  captain  of  the 
Mexican  schooner  Rover,  married  Encarnacion  Vallejo, 
sister  of  the  general.  William  S.  Hinckley,  of  Boston, 
master  of  the  Corsair,  American  brig,  married  Susana, 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  Ignacio  Martinez.  William  H. 
Davis,  born  at  Honolulu,  son  of  an  American  father, 
supercargo  of  the  American  bark  Don  Quixote,  married 
Maria  de  Jesus,  daughter  of  Joaquin  Estudillo.  He 
married,  second,  a  daughter  of  Ignacio  Martinez. 
Alfred  Robinson,  agent  for  Bryant  and  Sturgis  and 
later  for  the  Pacific  Mail,  married  Ana  Maria,  daughter 
of  Jose  de  la  Guerra.  Henry  Dalton,  supercargo  of 
the  Soledad,  married  a  daughter  of  Agustin  Vicente 
Zamorano.  Teresa  de  la  Guerra,  daughter  of  Jose 
de  la  Guerra,  married  W.  E.  P.  Hartnett,  an  English 


474  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

merchant,  who  came  in  1822,  representing  Begg  and 
Company  of  Lima.  Her  sister,  Dona  Angustias,  mar- 
ried, first,  Jimeno  Caserin,  secretary  of  state,  and  after 
Jimeno's  death,  married  Doctor  James  L.  Ord,  U.  S.  A. 
Maria  Antonia,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Jose  de 
la  Guerra,  married  Cesareo  Lataillade,  vice-consul  of 
Spain,  and  after  Lataillade's  death,  she  married  her 
cousin,  Caspar  Orena,  and  is  still  living  in  Santa 
Barbara  (191 5).  William  H.  Thomes,  the  writer,  gives 
a  most  fascinating  picture  of  her  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
when  he  visited  Santa  Barbara  in  1843.  The  beautiful 
Arcadia  Bandini,  daughter  of  Don  Juan,  married  Abel 
Stearns,  of  Los  Angeles,*  and  after  Stearns'  death  she 
married  Robert  S.  Baker.  Three  of  her  sisters  also  mar- 
ried Americans.  Bandini's  daughters  were  all  noted 
for  their  beauty.  The  four  handsome  daughters  of  Jose 
Joaquin  Estudillo  married  Americans.  The  superiority 
of  the  Californians  over  the  Mexicans  in  appearance, 
language,  and  dress  was  noted  by  all  travelers,  and  the 
hospitality  exercised  by  them  knew  no  bounds. f  These 
and  many  other  foreigners  who  married  into  the  Spanish 
families  became  a  part  of  that  early  civilization  known 
as  the  "Golden  Age  of  California." 


*Don  Abel  Stearns  was  considered  the  homeliest  man  in  California  and  his 
wife  was  called  the  handsomest  woman.  The  couple  were  known  as  the 
"Beauty  and  the  Beast." 

t"The  old  Californian  or  Castilian  families  are  still  in  the  ascendancy,  but  the 
young  Americans  and  other  foreigners  are  making  terrible  inroads  upon,  and 
carrying  off  their  fair  daughters.  *  *  *  The  young  seiioritas  certainly  possess  many 
attractions.  *  *  *  In  deportment  they  are  exceedingly  gentle  and  ladylike.  *  *  * 
Their  complexion  is  generally  as  fair  as  the  Anglo-Saxon.  *  *  *  The  California 
ladies  are  as  slender  and  delicate  in  form  as  those  of  our  Atlantic  States.  I  was 
struck,  too,  with  the  elegance  and  purityof  their  language,  which  presented  a  marked 
contrast  with  the  corrupt  dialect  spoken  in  Mexico.  The  Californians  as  a  people 
appear  superior  to  the  Mexicans."  Personal  Narrative,  by  John  Russell  Bartlett, 
New  York,  1854,  Vol.  II,  p.  73-4. 


JAMES  BLACK 
Born  at  Inverness,  Scotland,  Janaury  i,  1806;  died  June 
12,  1870;  came  to  California,  a  sailor,  in  1832  being  landed  by 
his  captain  at  Monterey  sick  with  typhoid  fever.  In  1843  he 
was  naturalized  and  married  Agustina,  daughter  of  Juan  Sais 
and  obtained  grant  of  Caiiada  de  la  Jonive  which  he  later 
exchanged  with  Jasper  O'Farrell  for  a  part  of  the  Nicasio 
rancho.  In  1850  he  was  judge,  and  in  1852-3  was  assessor  of 
Marin  county.     He  left  a  very  large  estate. 


nta 


b^bits(T$ni9«d  ?f;gpra.'apii£?iri,i^xac6iie3  ifi  [afwepig^fSjip  i 


JAMES     BL.A.CK 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  475 

Into  the  Arcadian  simplicity  of  this  life  came  organ- 
ized bands  of  rough  men  armed  with  rifles  and  revolving 
pistols.  Many  of  these  were  peaceful  immigrants, 
armed  for  protection  against  Indians,  seeking  homes 
in  a  country  where  they  had  been  told  that  land  was  to 
be  had  for  the  asking  and  that  the  conditions  of  life  were 
more  favorable  than  in  the  country  they  were  leaving 
behind.  Such  immigrants  were  usually  accompanied 
by  their  families  and  had  every  incentive  for  peaceful 
and  regular  lives.  Others  were  of  a  rough,  disorderly 
character,  from  the  mountains  and  western  frontier 
settlements,  men  who  settled  nowhere,  of  wild  and 
reckless  nature  and  disorderly  habits.  They  were 
largely  hunters  and  trappers,  ready  for  a  fight  or  a 
carouse,  and  impatient  of  restraint;  who  regarded  the 
Spanish  owners  of  the  soil — whom  they  designated  as 
Greasers — as  on  a  par  with  Indians  and  other  "var- 
mint," and  were  quite  as  ready  to  kill  the  one  as  the 
other.  They  came  into  California  in  1843-4  ^^^  ^^45 
as  others  of  their  class  had  gone  into  Texas  ten  years 
earlier,  looking  for  trouble,  determined  to  acquire 
the  territory  by  the  filibuster  method,  and  making  no 
secret  of  their  intentions.  That  the  so-called  Bear 
Flag  party  was  composed  largely  of  this  class  of  citizens 
is  evidenced  by  Fremont's  instructions  to  send  a  party 
of  men  "who  have  nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to 
gain"*  to  commit  depredations  against  the  Cali- 
fornians,  and  it  is  clear  from  the  insolent  manner  in 
which  some  of  Fremont's  men  conducted  themselvesf 

*Volume  III,  Chapter  I,  p.  41. 
tibid,  Chapter  /,  p.  p-7j. 


476  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

in  the  Santa  Clara  and  Salinas  valleys  that  his  own 
force  was  not  free  from  them. 

The  episode  of  the  Bear  Flag  war  and  the  subsequent 
conquest  of  California  was  calculated  to  interrupt  the 
friendly  relations  heretofore  existing  between  the 
Californians  and  the  Americans  and  the  antagonism 
thus  provoked  was  increased  by  the  unjust  treatment 
the  Californians  received  from  their  conquerors  in  land 
matters  following  the  gold  immigration  of  1849  and  sub- 
sequent years,  all  of  which  left  behind  it  a  heritage  of 
bitterness  and  hate  which  the  association  of  more  than 
half  a  century  has  not  entirely  removed.  With  the 
present  generation,  this  is  but  a  tradition,  and  the 
extensive  mingling  of  blood  and  a  better  understanding 
on  both  sides  have  done  much  to  soften  the  memories 
of  harsh  and  contemptuous  treatment. 

The  gold  immigration  brought  to  California  men 
of  every  degree — including  a  goodly  proportion  of  the 
scum  of  creation.  It  was  a  migration  of  young, 
strong,  courageous  men,  and  it  was  only  those  of 
courage  and  physical  strength  that  could  endure  the 
horrors  of  that  terrible  journey.  It  was  a  survival 
of  the  fittest.  The  decade  preceding  the  gold  dis- 
covery had  been  a  period  of  poverty  with  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  of  the  eastern  states  and  they 
were  obliged  to  practice  the  closest  economy.  Most 
of  the  farms  were  mortgaged,  and  many  a  young  man 
joined  the  California  emigration  hoping  to  pick  up 
gold  enough  in  a  year  or  two  to  pay  off  the  mortgage 
on  the  old  homestead.  But  with  most  of  the  com- 
panies, whether  by  sea  or  land,  were  men  of  desperate 
fortunes:   gamblers,  thieves,  and  murderers.     To  these, 


DR.  GALEN  BURDELL 
Born  at  Adams  Corners,  Jefferson  county,  New  York,  June 
26,  1827;  died  at  Olompali,  Marin  county,  California,  April 
8,  1906;  came  to  California  on  the  ship  Duzbury  from  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  arriving  at  San  Francisco,  August  22,  1849.  He 
was  a  practicing  dentist  in  New  York  City  and  went  on  a 
vacation  to  Brazil  and  was  about  to  return  home  when  the 
opportunity  presented  itself  to  make  the  trip  to  California 
which  he  did,  fully  expecting  to  return  to  New  York.  His 
marriage  to  Maria  Agustina,  daughter  of  James  Black  and 
granddaughter  of  Juan  Sais  connected  him  with  the  ancien 
resime  in  California. 


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THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  477 

the  absence  of  law  gave  assurance  of  unlimited  oppor- 
tunity for  preying  upon  a  community  rich,  careless, 
and  lavish  in  the  use  of  money,  while  to  many  of  the 
ordinarily  respectable  members  of  society,  freedom 
from  the  restraining  influences  of  family  and  the 
orderly  rule  of  convention,  operated  like  a  draught  of 
fiery  liquor  on  an  unaccustomed  brain,  and  all  kinds 
of  excesses  were  indulged  in  by  men  of  hitherto  sober 
lives  gone  mad  with  the  excitement  of  dissipation. 
At  length  the  activities  of  the  vicious  and  criminal 
element  became  so  bold  and  defiant  that  the  people 
were  roused  and  put  down  the  disorders  with  a  strong 
hand. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  habit  of  drinking  in  bar- 
rooms became  less  prevalent  as  the  establishment  of 
homes  made  the  resort  to  the  saloon  less  necessary, 
and  the  legislature  passed  laws  in  1852,  1855,  and  1857 
against  gambling.  When  the  men  of  the  gold  immi- 
gration began  to  realize  that  they  were  not  to  be  here 
for  a  few  months  or  years  and  began  to  send  for  their 
families  there  was  an  immediate  change  for  the  better. 
The  rough  woolen  shirt,  slouch  hat,  big  boots  with 
trousers  tucked  into  them,  disappeared  from  the  streets 
of  the  cities  and  towns,  and  in  their  places  were 
seen  the  high  hat,  the  frock  coat,  the  laundered  shirt, 
and  polished  boots.  The  shops,  too,  began  to  display 
attractive  goods  for  wear  and  for  household  use.  In 
the  mining  camps  the  appearance  of  a  woman  attracted 
general  attention  and  she  was  treated  with  a  chivalrous 
respect  that  was  also,  in  a  degree,  extended  to  the 
less  reputable  class.  In  the  mining  counties  in  1850 
women  formed  but  two  per  cent  of  the  population. 


478  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

and  in  the  state,  less  than  eight  per  cent.  By  1852 
some  30,000  women  had  come  to  CaUfornia — mostly 
Americans — and  the  express  companies  arranged  to 
bring  the  families  of  such  pioneers  as  were  unable  to  go 
after  them.  A  miner  going  east  for  his  family  would 
bring  the  families  of  several  of  his  friends.  At  the 
present  time  the  sexes  are  about  equal  in  the  state. 

In  the  early  gold  period  every  man  was  a  law  unto 
himself  and  each  maintained  equal  natural  rights  and 
privileges.  There  was  no  aristocracy  but  all  met  on  a 
common  level;  distinctions  of  caste  were  forgotten  and 
the  college  graduate  and  the  common  laborer  dug  for 
gold  or  worked  for  wages  side  by  side.  In  time  the 
angularities  of  the  ungainly  and  illiterate  wore  off  in 
the  contact  with  educated  men,  and  in  the  free  and 
unrestrained  life  all  were  broadened.  The  strong 
and  self  reliant  found  here  the  opportunity  denied  them 
in  a  previous  condition  and  the  record  of  notable 
achievement  has  been  continuous.  By  the  early  miners 
mountains  were  removed  and  rivers  turned  from  their 
courses  that  the  hidden  gold  might  be  recovered.  A 
little  later  the  continent  was  girt  with  railroads,  and  in 
agriculture,  the  desert  has  been  redeemed  and  the  wil- 
derness transformed  into  a  prosperous  state.  Progress 
has  been  made  in  manufacture,  in  education,  and  in  the 
arts  and  sciences. 

While  character  and  enterprise  take  a  leading  rank 
in  California,  education  and  intelligence  stand,  on  the 
average,  higher  among  the  masses  than  probably  in  any 
other  country.  Previous  to  the  conquest  educational 
facilities  among  the  Spanish  population  were  rather 
slight.     With  the  Americans  came  the  establishment 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  479 

of  public  schools,  as  related  in  the  first  chapter  of  this 
volume.  Liberal  provisions  were  made  by  the  state, 
and  congress  granted  to  it  the  sixteenth  and  thirty- 
second  sections  of  land  for  school  purposes. 

The  constitution  of  1849  provided  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  state  university,  and  directed  that  the 
proceeds  of  all  lands  given  or  to  be  given  by  the  United 
States  or  by  individuals  for  the  use  of  a  university 
should  remain  a  permanent  fund,  the  income  of  which 
was  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  university,  for 
the  promotion  of  literature,  the  arts  and  sciences;  and 
in  an  ordinance  adopted  by  it  the  convention  preferred 
a  request  to  congress  for  seventy-two  sections  of  land 
in  the  state  to  be  conveyed  to  it  for  use  and  support  of 
a  university. 

In  the  first  session  of  the  California  legislature,  held 
in  San  Jose,  notice  was  given  of  a  bill  to  be  introduced 
to  provide  for  a  college  of  mines.  This  was  followed  up 
in  the  second  session,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  In  185 1 
the  legislature  passed  a  law  providing  for  a  distribution 
of  the  school  funds  among  the  religious  and  sectarian 
schools.  This  law  was  overthrown  in  1852,  but  reen- 
acted  in  1853,  and  again  repealed  in  1854.  In  1855 
began  a  movement  to  divert  the  university  funds  and 
distribute  them  among  the  various  colleges  then  estab- 
lished and  to  be  established  in  the  state  and  these 
attempts  did  not  cease  until  the  passage,  in  1868,  of 
the  bill  creating  the  University  of  California. 

We  have  seen,  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  arrival  on 
the  first  steamer,  the  California^  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  H. 
Willey,  a  young  graduate  of  Dartmouth  college,  who 
came  as  a  missionary,  intending  to  remain  two  years, 


480  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

but  meeting  at  Monterey  a  young  lady  who  came  with 
the  family  of  General  Bennet  Riley  he  decided  to  remain 
longer,  for  the  lady  became  his  wife.  From  the  first 
Mr.  Willey  took  the  greatest  interest  in  California  and 
in  everything  pertaining  to  her  welfare  and  progress. 
He  opened  the  first  school  in  Monterey,  in  1849,  and 
we  have  seen  him  in  the  constitutional  convention  as 
chaplain.  From  the  first  his  mind  turned  to  the  higher 
education  of  the  youth  of  California  and  in  conjunction 
with  Frederick  Billings,  Sherman  Day,  and  others,  he 
applied  to  the  first  legislature  for  a  charter  for  a  college. 
In  1853  came  Henry  Durant,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
who  in  June  of  that  year  opened  a  school  on  Broadway 
and  Fifth  street,  Oakland,  with  three  pupils  and  an 
expense  for  rent  and  wages  of  three  hundred  dollars 
a  month.  It  was  a  hard  struggle  for  existence,  and  a 
little  later  the  school  was  removed  to  a  new  location, 
occupying  four  blocks  bounded  by  Twelfth,  Fourteenth, 
Franklin,  and  Harrison  streets.  Air.  Durant  had  come 
to  California  with  the  purpose  of  founding  a  university 
fully  formed  in  his  mind.  He  called  his  Oakland  school 
the  "College  School"  to  signify  that  it  was  but  a  prepa- 
ration for  the  coming  college.  On  April  13,  1855,  the 
College  of  California  was  incorporated  with  thirteen 
trustees,  among  whom  were  Henry  Durant  and  Samuel 
H.  Willey.  It  was  not  the  intention  to  begin  instruction 
until  a  college  class  had  been  prepared  at  the  school. 
The  intervening  years  were  to  be  employed  in  seeking 
funds.  The  chief  agent  in  this  work  was  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Willey.  In  i860  the  college  began  its  formal  career 
with  a  faculty  of  six,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Henry 
Durant,  and  a  freshman  class  of  eight. 


Wn:^^^^,    .:riy^::,if;,: 


BERKELEY 

The  Campus,  University  of  California 


:her 
ia  and 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  481 

On  the  5th  day  of  March,  1868,  a  bill  to  create  and 
organize  the  University  of  California  was  introduced 
into  the  assembly  by  its  author,  John  W.  Dwindle,  and 
on  the  23d  of  that  month  it  received  the  signature  of  the 
governor,  Henry  H.  Haight.  The  College  of  California 
had  acquired,  in  addition  to  its  Oakland  property,  a 
tract  of  land  of  rare  beauty  four  or  five  miles  north  of 
Oakland,  containing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  This 
property  the  College  of  California,  by  formal  act  of  its 
board  of  trustees,  October  9,  1867,  donated  and  con- 
veyed to  the  state  board  of  directors  of  the  Agricultural, 
Mining,  and  Mechanical  Arts  College  for  a  University 
of  California,  and  in  addition,  it  donated  all  its  net 
assets  to  such  university  when  established,  and  this 
being  accomplished,  the  College  of  California  was 
disincorporated.  The  law  in  recognition  of  the  dona- 
tion of  the  College  of  California  directed  that  the  college 
of  Agriculture  should  be  first  established,  and  that  the 
colleges  of  Mechanics,  Mines,  and  Civil  Engineering, 
should  follow  in  order. 

The  university  is  under  control  of  a  board  of  regents, 
consisting  of  the  governor,  the  lieutenant-governor,  the 
speaker  of  the  assembly,  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  the  president  of  the  state  agricultural 
society,  the  president  of  the  Mechanics  Institute, 
the  president  of  the  University,  and  sixteen  regents 
appointed  by  the  governor  for  a  term  of  sixteen  years. 

The  presidency  of  the  university  was  first  offered  to 
General  George  B.  McClellan.  He  declined.  It  was 
then  offered  to  Professor  Daniel  C.  Gilman  who  also 
declined.  The  regents  then  turned  to  the  founder, 
Henry  Durant,  who  accepted,  served  for  two  years, 


482  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

and  then  resigned  and  Professor  Daniel  C.  Gilman  was 
elected  and  served  from  1872  to  1875,  when  he  resigned 
to  found  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  at  Baltimore, 
and  was  succeeded  by  John  Le  Conte.  The  university 
has  twelve  colleges,  viz:  letters,  social  sciences,  natural 
sciences,  agriculture,  mechanics,  mining,  civil  engineer- 
ing, chemistry,  law,  dentistry,  medicine,  and  pharmacy; 
an  institute  of  art,  a  school  of  industrial  arts,  a  medical 
department  at  Los  Angeles,  a  farm  at  Davis  and  one 
at  the  university  in  Berkeley.  In  1873,  Doctor  H.  H. 
Toland,  who  had  established  a  medical  college  in  San 
Francisco,  donated  it  to  the  university,  and  by  act  of 
legislature  Dr.  Toland's  name  was  conferred  upon  that 
college.  In  1878,  the  Hastings  College  of  the  Law  was 
created  by  act  of  the  legislature  and  the  act  provided 
for  its  affiliation  with  the  university.  It  was  endowed 
with  ^100,000  by  S.  Clinton  Hastings  who  paid  that 
sum  into  the  state  treasury  on  condition  that  the  state 
should  pay  seven  per  cent  thereon  for  the  support  of 
the  college.  The  control  of  the  college  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  directors  thereof,  who  choose  their  own  successors 
as  well  as  appoint  the  professors  and  instructors.  The 
president  of  the  university,  however,  is  president  of 
the  faculty,  and  degrees  are  conferred  by  the  regents 
of  the  university. 

The  magnificent  site  of  the  university  is  to  be 
improved  by  the  erection  of  a  noble  collection  of 
buildings  according  to  a  plan  by  Emile  Benard  of  Paris, 
revised  by  John  Galen  Howard  to  meet  the  changing 
needs  of  the  university.  Under  this  plan,  a  gift  by 
Mrs.  Phoebe  A.  Hearst,  has  been  erected  to  date:  the 
Mining  Building,  given  by  Mrs.  Hearst;  the  Greek 


BERKELEY 
The  Greek  Theatre,  University  of  California 


dfe  ik  m  wmk- 


HISTORY  OF  C;"  \ 

l'  Uanici  U.  Uiiiiiaii  was 

-     ...^ .  .o  18--    --i—  ^-  '  --"-'1 

t'^>  foiinH  the  Jo  s  I^ni' 

iniversity 
has  tvvcivc  coiiegcb,  viz.  atural 

science       •       -^  "ser- 

ine. C^  'V 

school  of  industrial  a  edical 

ae  t  Davis  and  one 

y.     in  ii)73,  Doctor  H.  H. 
........ x^.,  v,x.v.  .......  v^.,<cv..        -^      Tn^-v.i^.'-g^l  college  in  San 

Francisco,  donated  it  t*  /,  and  by  act  of 

oland*s  name  was  conferred  upon  that 

,  the  Hastings  College  of  the  Law  was 

'•^     '    /  nd  the  act  provided 

■     ' '  .^  ,...-^ifF»l33i6^ilTas  endowed 

n  Hastings  who  paid  that 

on  condition  that  the  state 

^ort  of 

hands 


president  01  Uie  universit) 


the    ' 


UlC    I 


ity   is   to   be 
^ed   by   tl  a   noble   collection   of 

i  by  Emile  Benard  of  Paris, 

■  •-'^  to   -■>eet  the  changing 

K,;  plan,  a  gift  by 

has  been  erected  to  date 

aildinv  Irs.  Hearst;  the  Greek 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  483 

Theatre,  given  by  William  R.  Hearst;  University 
Library  (in  part),  given  by  Charles  Franklin  Doe; 
California  Hall,  built  by  the  state;  Boalt  Hall,  given 
by  Mrs.  John  H.  Boalt;  Agriculture  Hall,  built  by  the 
state;  and  Sather  Gate  and  Sather  Tower,  given  by 
Mrs.  Jane  K.  Sather.  At  a  recent  election  the  people 
voted  a  bond  issue  of  ^1,800,000  for  the  erection  of 
several  new  buildings.  The  university  has  received 
numerous  endowments  and  gifts  amounting  to  several 
millions  of  dollars :  notably  that  of  the  widow  of  George 
Williams  Hooper,  late  of  the  lumber  firm  of  C.  A.  Hooper 
and  Company,  who  gave  property  valued  at  $2,000,000 
for  medical  research.  This  was  in  memory  of  her  hus- 
band and  in  fulfilment  of  a  plan  agreed  upon  between 
them  some  time  before  his  death.  J.  C.  Wilmerding  left 
a  bequest  of  $400,000  to  the  regents  of  the  university 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  school  of  industrial  arts, 
"to  teach  boys  trades,  fitting  them  to  make  a  living 
with  their  hands,  with  little  study  and  plenty  of 
work."  This  has  been  established  for  a  number  of 
years  and  is  in  successful  operation.  James  Lick  gave 
$700,000  for  an  observatory  on  Mount  Hamilton,  which 
is  a  department  of  the  university  and  is  doing  excellent 
work. 

On  the  nth  day  of  November,  1885,  Leland  Stanford 
and  Jane  Lathrop  Stanford,  his  wife,  united  in  endowing 
the  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University  in  Santa  Clara 
county,  about  thirty  miles  south  of  San  Francisco. 
This  endowment  was  given  in  memory  of  their  only 
son,  a  youth  of  great  promise,  who  died  in  his  fifteenth 
year.  The  estates  granted  included  the  Palo  Alto  farm, 
the   Gridley   farm,    and   the  Vina   farm,    aggregating 


484  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

83,000  acres,  and  the  total  endowment,  in  land  and 
money,  was  estimated  to  be  $20,000,000.  The  univer- 
sity has  for  several  years  been  in  successful  operation 
and  is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  foremost  seats  of 
learning  in  the  world.  It  opened  its  doors  in  October, 
1 891,  with  500  students,  and  has  now  1,897  total 
registration.  It  admits  both  sexes  but  the  number  of 
women  students  is  limited  to  500. 

The  University  of  Southern  California,  in  Los 
Angeles,  has  a  registration  of  2,307  students.  San 
Jose  has  the  College  of  the  Pacific,  and  also  the  College 
of  Notre  Dame,  for  women,  and  Oakland  has  Mills 
College — formerly  Mills  Seminary — for  women:  an 
institution  of  high  reputation.  In  Santa  Clara,  the 
Santa  Clara  College  occupies  the  site  of  the  old  mission 
of  Santa  Clara  and  some  of  the  ancient  mission  buildings 
are  still  in  use. 

The  California  School  of  Mechanical  Arts,  endowed 
by  James  Lick,  is  in  successful  operation  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  is  the  Cogswell  Polytechnic  College,  endowed 
by  Doctor  Henry  D.  Cogswell.  The  first  high  school 
opened  its  doors  in  San  Francisco  in  1856.  The  second 
high  school  was  opened  in  Sacramento  in  1859,  and 
later  high  schools  were  begun  in  Alarysville,  Grass 
Valley,  Nevada  City,  Oakland,  Los  Angeles,  San  Jose, 
and  Vallejo,  in  the  order  named.  In  1884  the  state 
university  adopted  the  accrediting  system,  by  which 
high  school  graduates  are  admitted  to  the  university 
without  examination.  There  are  now  nearly  two  hun- 
dred high  schools  in  the  state,  and  there  are  six  state 
normal  schools,  the  first  of  which  was  opened  in  San 
Francisco,  July  21,  1862,  but  later  (1871)  removed  to 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  485 

San  Jose.  The  other  state  normal  schools  were  estab- 
lished: Los  Angeles  in  1882,  Chico  1889,  San  Diego 
1898,  San  Francisco  1899,  Santa  Barbara  1909.  The 
public  school  system  of  California  with  its  elementary 
schools,  high  schools,  normal  schools,  and  state  univer- 
sity; its  private  schools  of  high  order,  many  of  them 
accredited  to  the  universities,  its  many  sectarian  col- 
leges and  universities,  all  attest  the  earnestness  of  the 
citizens  in  matters  of  education. 

In  matters  religious,  it  is  understood,  of  course,  that 
prior  to  the  conquest  there  was  only  one  denomination 
in  California — the  Roman  Catholic  church.  About  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Jesuit  fathers 
undertook  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  of  California 
(i.  e.  Lower  California)  at  their  own  expense,  and  to 
that  end  individual  members  of  the  society,  together 
with  other  pious  persons,  contributed  a  sum  to  begin 
this  work  and  as  it  proceeded  other  contributions  came 
in  until  quite  a  large  amount  had  been  collected.  With 
this  money  it  was  determined  to  establish  a  separate 
special  fund  or  capital,  the  income  of  which  should  form 
a  permanent  endowment  for  the  missionary  church. 
For  this  purpose  the  first  contribution  received  was 
from  the  congregation  of  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  los  Dolores, 
of  the  city  of  Mexico,  which  contributed  ^10,000,  and 
Don  Juan  Caballero  y  Ozio,  who  donated  ^20,000  more, 
and  assured  Father  Salvatierra  who,  with  Father  Kino, 
was  in  charge,  that  in  case  of  any  unforeseen  emergency 
he  might  draw  on  him  and  he  would  honor  his  drafts, 
large  or  small.  The  example  of  Don  Juan  was  followed 
by  other  wealthy  persons  and  the  fund  grew  to  large 
proportions   and   became   known   as    the    Pious   Fund 


486  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  the  Calif ornias  {Fondo  Piadoso  de  las  Calif ornias). 
Some  of  the  contributions  were  very  large,  one  amount- 
ing to  ^240,000  and  another  to  about  $120,000.  The 
work  of  converting  the  heathen  went  on  apace  until  at 
the  end  of  seventy  years  the  Jesuits  had  thirteen  mis- 
sions in  Lower  California.  In  1768  the  Jesuits  were 
expelled  from  the  Spanish  dominions  and  their  tempo- 
ralities were  seized  by  the  crown.  This  included  the 
Pious  Fund,  but  this,  being  a  trust,  was  so  regarded, 
and  the  properties  of  the  fund  were  administered  by 
officers  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  the  income  was 
devoted  to  the  religious  uses  for  which  they  were  dedi- 
cated by  the  donors.  The  missions  of  Baja  California 
were  ordered  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Franciscan 
friars  but  later  when  the  missions  of  Alta  California 
were  begun,  those  of  Baja  California  were  given  to  the 
Dominican  friars  and  the  Franciscans  confined  them- 
selves to  the  missions  of  Alta  California,  the  income  and 
product  of  the  Pious  Fund  being  divided  between  both 
orders. 

On  the  declaration  of  Mexican  independence  Mexico 
succeeded  to  the  crown  of  Spain  as  trustee  of  the  Pious 
Fund  and  it  continued  to  be  managed  and  its  income 
applied  as  before  until  September  19,  1836,  when  Alta 
and  Baja  California  were  erected  into  an  episcopal  dio- 
cese and  Francisco  Garcia  Diego  was  made  bishop 
thereof  and  took  upon  himself  the  administration  of 
the  Pious  Fund  as  trustee. 

On  February  8,  1842,  so  much  of  the  law  of  September 
19,  1836,  as  confided  the  management,  investment,  etc., 
of  the  fund  to  the  bishop,  was  abrogated  by  a  decree 
of  Santa  Anna,  then  president  of  the  republic,  and  the 


JAMES  LICK 

Born  at  Fredericksburg,  Pennsylvania,  August  25,  1796; 
died  at  San  Francisco,  October  i,  1876;  came  to  California  on 
the  brig  Lady  Adams  from  Callao,  arriving  at  San  Francisco, 
January  7,  1848.  He  was  a  piano-maker  by  trade  and  lived 
for  over  20 years  at  Buenos  Aires,  Chile  and  Peru.  Lick  brought 
with  him  to  San  Francisco  a  small  fortune  which  he  invested 
mostly  in  city  property  and  which  made  him  very  wealthy. 
He  left  an  estate  valued  at  three  million  dollars  which  he 
devoted  to  public  uses.  His  chief  benefaction  was  the  erection 
of  an  observatory  on  Mount  Hamilton  for  which  was  to  be 
constructed  a  telescope,  "superior  to  and  more  powerful  than 
any  telescope  yet  made,"  the  observatory,  telescope,  land, 
etc.,  to  be  conveyed  to  the  University  of  California. 

Lick's  body  lies  in  the  base  of  the  pier  of  the  great  36-inch 
equatorial. 


jrnias  {Fondo  Piadoso  de  las  Calijormas). 

ce  until  at 
the  end  of  seventy  years  the  Jesuits  had  thirteen  mis- 
s"         '  "  "  "^  "^  the  Jesuits  were 

-i"<i  their  tempo- 
included  the 
Pious  Fund,  but  this^-J^^^i^f^^i^ trust,  was  so  regarded. 


.•J'JVll     iJllli"    ^IJJ     I  !      V'l     J-3^1       lU-Lill 


iciscan 


them- 

,l^9sit,it903«?i  'irjiTOaqot?hfeJiujcome  and 

ce  Me  A 
e  Pious 


fund  and  it  contu 


Francisco  Garcia   Dle^o  was   made  bis: 

)k  upon  hims  administration  of 

Fund  as  trustee 


he  bishop,  was  a 
ua,  then  president  republic,  anc 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  487 

trust  again  devolved  upon  the  state.  On  October  24, 
1842,  another  decree  was  made  by  the  same  authority, 
reciting  the  inconvenience  and  waste  and  expense  at- 
tending the  management  of  the  properties  of  the  fund, 
and  directing  that  the  properties  belonging  to  it  should 
be  sold  for  the  sum  represented  by  its  income,  capital- 
ized on  the  basis  of  six  per  cent  per  annum,  and  that 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  as  well  as  the  cash  investments 
be  paid  into  the  public  treasury,  and  recognizing  an 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  pay  six 
per  cent  per  annum  on  the  capital  thereof  thenceforth. 
The  greater  part  of  the  property  was  sold  in  pursuance 
of  this  decree  for  the  sum  of  about  two  millions  of  dol- 
lars and  the  fund  was,  besides,  a  creditor  of  the  state 
for  some  one  and  a  quarter  millions  more — representing 
the  occasional  sums  borrowed  from  the  fund  by  the  sov- 
ereign— the  king  always  giving  his  note  for  the  amount 
borrowed — and  on  June  24,  1824,  the  Mexican  congress 
formally  assumed  the  administration  of  the  trust  and 
the  obligation  to  pay  to  the  two  orders  the  income 
thereof,  but  like  many  other  obligations  it  rested  lightly 
on  the  conscience  of  the  republic  and  neither  the  friars 
nor  their  successor,  the  bishop,  could  obtain  but  a 
moiety  of  the  amounts  due  them  until  at  length  pay- 
ment ceased  altogether  and  the  Pious  Fund  became  a 
tradition  of  the  past,  its  origin  lost  in  antiquity,  and  no 
papers  existed  in  the  mission  archives  relating  to  it. 
In  1 85 1  the  legislature  of  California  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  investigate  the  matter,  but  after  examining 
all  the  old  inhabitants  as  to  what  they  knew  of  it,  had 
to  report  that  all  they  could  discover  was  that  there 
had  been  such  a  fund,  and  that  it  had  amounted  to  a 


488  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

large  sum,  but  as  to  whence  it  came,  how  it  arose,  what 
it  was,  or  what  became  of  it,  they  could  discover  nothing. 

In  1853,  Archbishop  Alemany,*  then  bishop  of 
Monterey  and  successor  to  Bishop  Diego,  found  in  the 
archives  of  the  office  of  his  predecessor  a  package  which 
upon  examination  proved  to  be  a  report  of  Don  Pedro 
Ramirez,  agent  and  attorney  of  Bishop  Diego,  on  the 
Pious  Fund,  containing  the  decree  of  Santa  Anna,  a  list 
of  the  property  he  had  delivered  over,  and  the  corre- 
spondence. These  papers  the  archbishop  delivered  to 
John  T.  Doyle,  an  eminent  attorney  of  San  Francisco, 
with  a  request  to  look  them  over  and  see  if  he  had  not 
some  claim  either  against  the  United  States  or  Mexico 
for  indemnity  by  reason  of  Santa  Anna's  act  of  1842. 
Doyle  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  documents 
and  followed  up  the  examination  by  a  study  of  Mexican 
and  California  history,  traced  the  various  properties 
back  to  the  donors,  and  prepared  himself  to  open  his 
case  upon  short  notice.  Years  passed.  The  archbishop 
gave  up  all  thought  of  the  claim  and  the  attorney  came 
to  regard  the  case  from  the  point  of  historical  interest 
only. 

In  1868  a  Mixed  American  and  Mexican  Commission 
for  settling  claims  was  sitting  in  Washington  and  Doyle 
got  the  Pious  Fund  matter  before  them,  waiving  all 
claim  for  the  properties  sold  by  Santa  Anna  and  holding 
only  for  the  interest  accrued  since  the  treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo.  The  two  commissioners  could  not  agree 
and  the  case  was  referred  to  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  British 
Ambassador  to  Washington,  as  umpire,  and  he  awarded 

*Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany.     He  was  made  bishop  of  Monterey  in  1850  and  arch- 
bishop of  San  Francisco  in  1853. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  489 

to  the  archbishop  of  California  one-half  of  the  accrued 
interest,  $904,070.79;  the  other  half  belonging  to  Lower 
California.  This  award  was  paid  by  Mexico  in  thirteen 
annual  installments,  but  she  paid  no  interest  after 
the  award — that  is,  after  1869.  The  later  claim  of  the 
United  States  for  payment  of  the  annual  interest  on 
the  Pious  Fund  was  ignored  by  Mexico,  but  by  protocol 
signed  by  the  two  governments,  May  22,  1902,  the  case 
was  referred  to  the  Permanent  Court  of  Arbitration  at 
the  Hague,  and  on  October  14,  1902,  the  tribunal 
awarded  to  the  United  States  for  the  use  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  archbishop  and  prelates  of  California  the  sum 
of  $1,402,682.67,  deferred  interest  from  1869  to  1902, 
and  a  perpetual  annuity  of  $43,050.99,  in  money  having 
legal  currency  in  Mexico.  This  was  the  first  interna- 
tional arbitration  case  decided  at  The  Hague  Tribunal. 
With  the  advent  of  the  Americans  came  the 
Protestants  and  services  were  held  by  several  chap- 
lains and  missionaries.  The  first  regularly  organized 
Protestant  service  in  California  was  The  Chaplaincy, 
organized  in  San  Francisco,  November,  1848,  by  lead- 
ing citizens,  who  elected  the  Rev. Timothy  Dwight  Hunt, 
a  native  of  Rochester,  New  York,  Protestant  chaplain 
to  the  citizens  of  San  Francisco  at  a  salary  of  $2,500 
per  annum.  In  July,  1849,  Hunt  organized  the  First 
Congregational  church  of  San  Francisco.  On  May  20, 
1849,  the  First  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  by 
the  Rev.  Albert  Williams,  who  came  on  the  Oregon, 
April  I,  1849,  and  services  were  held  in  a  tent  on 
Dupont  street.  On  June  24,  1849,  the  Rev.  O.  C. 
Wheeler,  who  came  on  the  first  steamer,  California, 
organized  the  First  Baptist  church  and  in  the  following 


490  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

month  the  society  erected  a  building  on  Washington 
between  Dupont  and  Stockton  streets.  In  September, 
1849,  came  the  Rev.  William  Taylor,  a  notable  preacher, 
who  organized,  in  October,  the  First  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  on  Powell  street.  In  July,  1849,  came 
the  Rev.  Flavel  S.  Mines,  who  organized  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Episcopal,  on  the  22d  of  that 
month,  and  later  in  the  summer  established  an  Epis- 
copal society  in  Sacramento.  The  Rev.  Samuel  H. 
Willey  came  up  from  Monterey  and  organized  the 
Howard  Presbyterian  church  on  Mission  street,  San 
Francisco,  on  land  given  by  W.  D.  M.  Howard.  In 
Sacramento  the  First  Congregational  church  was  organ- 
ized in  September,  1849,  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Benton,  and 
in  October  of  that  year,  the  Rev.  Isaac  Owen,  who  came 
across  the  plains,  organized  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
society  of  Sacramento.  The  Rev.  Sylvester  Woodb ridge 
who  came  on  the  first  steamer,  California,  organized  in 
April,  1849,  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Benicia. 

Notwithstanding  the  wickedness  and  levity  and 
recklessness  so  prevalent  in  1849  and  1850,  the  ministers 
were  well  received  by  the  people  in  the  towns  and  in  the 
mines.  They  preached  in  the  streets,  in  front  of  the 
saloons  and  gambling  houses,  and  were  everywhere 
treated  with  respect;  all  the  boats  running  on  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  gave  them  free 
passes,  and  many  of  the  stage  lines  did  the  same. 

The  decade  between  i860  and  1870  was  an  important 
one  for  California.  This  period  saw  the  transition  from 
the  exploitation  of  the  miner,  who  recked  nothing  of  the 
land  so  that  he  forced  mountain  and  stream  to  give  up 
their  hidden  treasures,  to  that  of  the  agriculturist,  who 


SAN  FRANCISCO 

The  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition 

The  Esplanade 


490  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

month  the  society  erected  a  building  on  Washington 

between  Dupont  and  Stockton  streets.     In  September, 

1849,  came  the  Rev.  William  Taylor,  a  notable  preacher, 

who  organized,  in  October,  the  First  Methodist  Epis 

copal  church,  on  Powell  street.     In  July,  1849,  came 

the  Rev.  Flavel  S.  Mines,  who  organized  the  church 

of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Episcopal,  on  the  22d  of  that 

month,  and  later  in  the  summer  established  an  Epi 

copal  society  in  Sacramento.     The  Rev.  Samuel  H. 

Willey  came  up  from  Monterey  and  organized  the 

Howard  Presbyterian  church  on  Mission  street,  San 

Francisco,  on  land  given  by  W.  D.  M.  Howard.     In 

Sacramento  the  First  Congregational  church  was  organ- 

'  ■     ^     tembe^i^^j^^e  Rev.  J.  A.  Benton,  and 

■    ".h^U^j^^43Jir&B4=-Ym&%9,rf)wen,  who  came 

-    ibrmiqt^zxHi'  the  Methodist  Episcopal 

he  Rev.  Sylvester  Woodbridge 

imer,  Calif orniay  organized  in 

1        V  -^  Benicia. 

o    and    levity    and 
recu  T  8  :;o,  the  ministers 

were  well  received  by  the  is  and  in  the 

mines.     They  preached  m  the  it  of  the 

saloons  and  gambling  houses,  <.i.^  w  i^.  v.verywhere 
treated  with  respect;  all  the  boats  running  on  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  gave  them  free 
passes,  and  many  of  the  stage  lines  did  the  same. 

The  decade  between  i860  and  1870  was  an  important 
one  for  California.  This  period  saw  the  transition  from 
the  exploitation  of  the  miner,  who  recked  nothing  of  th< 
land  so  that  he  forced  mountain  and  stream  to  give  \i. 
their  hidden  treasures,  to  that  of  the  agriculturist,  wb 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  491 

clothed  the  silent  valleys  with  fields  of  waving  grain, 
and  crowned  the  hillsides  with  thrifty  vineyards;  which 
saw  the  port  of  San  Francisco  crowded  with  masts  of 
vessels  to  carry  its  new  found  wealth  to  distant  lands; 
which  saw  the  building  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  and  the 
opening  of  the  Comstock  Lode;  which  saw  the  develop- 
ment of  trade  with  the  Orient  and  the  rise  of  men  of 
strength  and  power  in  the  mining,  mercantile,  and 
banking  world.  It  was  a  period  of  great  expectation, 
and  speculation  was  rife;  the  one  thing  demanded  was 
success  and  too  often  the  means  by  which  success 
was  attained  was  overlooked  or  lost  in  the  admiration 
accorded  the  prosperous. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  public  mind  when 
one  day  in  1871  two  weather  beaten  men,  having  the 
appearance  of  miners,  presented  themselves  at  the  Bank 
of  California  and  arranged  to  deposit  some  property  of 
great  value  for  safe  keeping.  They  were  Philip  Arnold 
and  John  Slack,  and  it  appeared  that  the  property 
consisted  of  diamonds  and  other  precious  stones  which 
they  had  discovered  in  a  desert  field  in  the  far  west — 
supposed  to  be  Arizona.  Arnold  had  at  one  time  been 
in  the  employ  of  George  D.  Roberts,  a  very  wealthy 
mining  operator  and  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the 
scheme  that  followed,  and  he  was,  in  a  few  days,  intro- 
duced by  Roberts  to  W.  C.  Ralston,  president  of  the 
bank,  and  Slack  was  known  to  Asbury  Harpending,  a 
capitalist,  and  real  estate  and  mining  speculator.  To 
Ralston  and  his  friends  the  men  made  known  their 
errand  to  San  Francisco,  which  was  to  obtain  capital 
to  work  the  diamond  fields  they  had  located,  for  which 
they  were  willing  to  part  with  a  small  portion  of  the 


492  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

property.  The  men  seemed  to  be  suspicious  and  re- 
fused to  disclose  the  locality  of  their  find,  but  after 
some  discussion  they  agreed  to  sell  a  one-half  interest 
in  the  diamond  fields  and  to  permit  an  inspection  of  the 
same  by  two  representatives  of  the  purchasers  who, 
however,  after  having  reached  the  wild  and  uninhabited 
country,  must  submit  to  being  blindfolded  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  fields.  This  was  agreed  to  and  the 
fields  were  examined,  the  party  returning  with  joyous 
reports  on  their  genuineness  and  fabulous  richness. 
The  men  also  oifered  to  go  to  the  mines  and  bring  to 
San  Francisco  a  couple  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
stones  and  place  them  in  the  hands  of  the  purchasers 
as  a  pledge  of  good  faith.  This  offer  was  approved  and 
the  men  left,  returning  some  time  later  with  a  large 
buckskin  package  of  diamonds.  They  claimed  they 
had  taken  out  two  millions  worth  of  stones  which,  for 
convenience  of  carriage,  they  had  made  into  two  pack- 
ages, and  in  crossing  a  river  had  lost  one  package,  but 
as  the  one  brought  contained  stones  of  the  value  of  a 
million  of  dollars  they  thought  it  would  satisfy  the 
proposed  purchasers — the  loss  of  a  million  apparently 
being  a  slight  thing  to  these  honest  miners.  It  was 
now  proposed  to  organize  a  company  of  ^10,000,000 
capital  to  exploit  the  fields,  and  a  large  sample  of  the 
stones  was  sent  to  Tiffany  of  New  York  for  examination 
and  appraisal,  resulting  in  a  report  that  the  stones  were 
genuine  and  were  worth  ^150,000.  As  the  stones 
selected  by  the  purchasers  were  a  fair  sample  of  the 
lot  and  comprised  about  one-tenth  of  those  in  their 
possession,  it  argued  a  total  value  of  ^1,500,000  for 
the  whole.    The  miners  agreed  to  an  expert  examination 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  493 

of  the  field  by  Henry  Janin,  a  well  known  mining  engi- 
neer of  high  standing.  This  examination  was  made  and 
the  engineer's  report  confirmed  all  that  had  been  claimed 
for  the  field;  Mr.  Janin  going  so  far,  one  of  the  party 
averred,  as  to  state  that  with  twenty  rough  laborers 
he  could  wash  out  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  diamonds 
a  month.  The  ground  was  now  cleared  for  the  forma- 
tion of  the  great  company.  There  was  some  talk  of 
incorporating  in  New  York,  but  Ralston  was  firm.  The 
company's  headquarters  should  be  in  San  Francisco. 
It  was  a  San  Francisco  enterprise:  the  capital  was 
raised  in  San  Francisco,  and  moreover,  the  stones  should 
come  to  San  Francisco  and  there  be  cut:  for  it  was  the 
intention  to  move  the  great  lapidary  establishments  of 
Amsterdam  to  San  Francisco,  a  decision  which  caused 
the  Low  Countries  no  small  concern.  San  Francisco 
was  ripe  for  the  new  company.  "Hardly  a  business 
man  of  any  considerable  wealth  would  not  have  consid- 
ered it  a  rare  privilege  to  have  been  admitted  to  parti- 
cipation in  the  enterprise  on  the  ground  floor,"  says 
Mr.  Harpending,  chief  promoter.*  But  this,  of  course, 
could  not  be  thought  of.  Twenty-five  gentlemen  rep- 
resenting the  cream  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  city 
of  San  Francisco,  men  of  national  reputation  for  high- 
class  business  standing  and  personal  integrity,  were  per- 
mitted to  subscribe  for  stock  to  the  amount  of  ^80,000 
each,  and  this  initial  capital  of  ^2,000,000  was  immedi- 
ately paid  into  the  Bank  of  California.  Among  the 
directors  were  the  California  agent  of  the  Rothschilds, 
and  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Barlow  and  Major-general  George 


*Tfu  Great  Diamond  Hoax  by  Asbury  Harpending  in  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin, 
September  i — October  28,  191 3. 


494  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

B.  McClellan,  of  New  York.  The  two  latter  gentlemen 
were  to  be  resident  directors  in  New  York,  where  a 
transfer  office  was  to  be  maintained.  The  interests  of 
Arnold  and  Slack  were  extinguished  by  a  final  payment 
to  them  of  ^300,000,  making,  with  what  had  been  paid 
before,  ^660,000,  in  all.  It  apparently  did  not  occur 
to  these  guileless  capitalists  that  this  was  an  exceedingly 
small  sum  to  pay  for  property  capable  of  producing  a 
million  dollars  a  month  and  of  whose  product  a  million 
and  a  half  dollars  was  already  in  their  possession. 
However,  the  honest  miners  received  their  money  and 
at  once  faded  to  invisibility. 

Not  only  in  San  Francisco  but  in  nearly  every 
financial  center  of  the  world,  the  public  was  keyed  up 
to  a  point  of  high  speculative  craze,  when  from  the 
clear  financial  sky  dropped  a  thunderbolt.  From  a 
small  station  in  Wyoming  came,  on  November  11,  1872, 
a  telegram  from  Clarence  King,  the  noted  scientist,  and 
was  receivedby  the  president  of  the  company,  to  the  effect 
that  the  alleged  diamond  fields  were  fraudulent  and 
were  plainly  "  salted."  There  was  a  quick  run  to  cover 
on  the  part  of  the  twenty-five  gentlemen  representing 
the  cream  of  the  financial  interests  of  San  Francisco, 
and  Mr.  Harpending  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  William  C.  Ralston  returned  to  these  gentlemen 
the  subscription  of  ^2,000,000  paid  by  them,  losing 
thereby  the  ^300,000  final  payment  to  Arnold  and  Slack 
as  well  as  his  previous  advances  to  those  simple  miners. 

It  appears  that  Clarence  King,  then  head  of  the 
Fortieth  Parallel  survey,  hearing  the  reports  of  the  great 
diamond  field  and  learning  through  some  of  his  assist- 
ants that  it  was  not  located  in  Arizona,  as  supposed. 


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i 


TTTQ-rORY  o. 


.LIFOR..X 


B.  iVicCleiian,  of  New  York.     The  two  latter  gentlemen 

New  York,  where  a 

The  interests  of 

a  final  payment 

ith  what  had  been  paid 

mtly  did  not  occur 

was  an  exceedingly 

^  able  of  producing  a 

v'hose  product  a  million 

i   their  possession. 

ed  their  money  and 


were  to  b 

•  --.^'-^er  oi. --.v..  ......  .._.  .... 

and  Slack  were  e: 
to  '  $300,000,  ma 

before,  3o6o,ooo,  in 


million  dollar- 
half   d 


Vot   only  in   i  n.   nearly   every 

^nter  ol)3§iaHAai;  K/.2:i^-  public  was  keyed  u, 
.  'i-hoQzi  i6ii<?i:rftHi^jni  Dab8fl[-eraBniBft(5riT<,vhen  from  the 

-om  a 

^  >  1872, 

cientist,  and 

the  effect 


LiiU   Mf.  iriai 


?  $300,000 
i  is  pre\ 


iir;ic   g? 


!  by  them,  1 
rnold  and  Slack 


mmers. 


s  supposed. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  495 

but  in  Wyoming  and  within  the  field-work  of  his  sur- 
vey, hastened  to  the  designated  locaHty  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  the  new  diamond  field  and  making  his  offi- 
cial report  on  what  seemed  to  be  a  discovery  of  great 
national  importance.  Taking  two  or  three  assistants 
he  reached  his  destination  and  soon  found  diamonds 
and  rubies  in  abundance,  but  his  suspicions  were  quickly 
aroused  by  the  observations  that  the  plainly  visible 
stones  lay  directly  upon  the  hard  surface  of  rock  where 
nature  alone  could  never  have  placed  or  left  them,  and 
that  none  could  be  found  in  the  earth  or  on  the  under- 
lying bed  rock,  where,  had  their  occurrence  been  genu- 
ine, the  inevitable  laws  of  nature  must  have  carried 
them;  with  the  further  observation  that  the  ant-hills, 
built  of  small  pebbles  mined  by  the  ants,  which  were 
found  to  bear  rubies  on  their  surfaces,  or  in  penetrating 
holes  made  with  a  small  stick,  invariably  showed,  in 
close  proximity,  the  storm-worn  footprints  of  mankind, 
while  other  ant-hills,  without  such  signs  of  human 
tracks  and  not  pierced  by  artificial  holes,  were  also  with- 
out rubies  or  precious  stones  of  any  sort.  Thorough 
investigation  proved  beyond  any  doubt  that  some  de- 
signing hand  had  "salted"  the  ground  with  deliberate 
fraudulent  intent.  Evidence  was  later  forthcoming 
that  large  purchases  of  stones  had  been  made  in  London 
and  Paris  during  the  previous  winter,  mostly  of  refuse 
stones  of  small  value,  and  that  about  ^35,000  had  been 
spent  in  "salting"  the  claim. 

The  era  of  mining  stock  speculation  reached  its  climax 
about  1876  though  it  was  continued  with  more  or  less 
intensity  until  about  1880,  when  it  sensibly  began  to 
abate,  leaving  the  wrecks  of  the  stock  market  high  and 


496  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

dry,  like  the  refuse  cast  up  by  a  flood.  The  frenzy  was 
not  confined  to  any  class  or  condition  but  pervaded  all, 
men  and  women,  and  extended  throughout  California 
and  Nevada.  The  morning  greeting  between  friends 
was  not  "How  are  you?"  or,  "How  do  you  do.^"  but, 
"  How  are  stocks  ? "  The  serving  maid  or  the  laundress 
saw  herself  a  lady  with  an  establishment,  with  carriage, 
etc.,  and  the  clerk  saw  his  fellow  clerk — without  any 
more  brains  or  money  than  he  possessed — suddenly 
throw  up  his  job  and  blossom  out  as  a  millionaire.  A 
butcher,  who  furnished  Flood  with  chops  and  steaks, 
doffed  his  apron  and  closed  his  shop.  He  left  an  estate 
of  several  millions.  The  incentive  to  speculate  in  min- 
ing stocks,  when  one  saw  great  fortunes  acquired  all 
about,  was  almost  irresistible  and  few  were  able  to 
withstand  it.  This  naturally  led  to  defalcation  and 
crime  where  trust  funds  were  in  the  hands  of  an  operator 
who  saw  his  investments  about  to  be  swept  away  for 
want  of  money  to  make  good  his  margins.  A  clerk  in  a 
large  bank  took  3190,000  of  the  bank's  money  through 
a  bogus  account  to  which  he  transferred  sums  from  cus- 
tomers who  carried  large  balances.  One  bank  charged 
off  a  million  dollars,  the  loss  by  the  manager  of  one 
of  its  agencies,  largely  through  operations  on  his  own 
account  and  for  his  particular  friends.  Another  man- 
ager of  an  agency  bought  on  one  day  for  a  friend 
^800,000  of  stocks  for  which  not  a  dollar  of  "margin" 
was  put  up,  and  on  this  one  purchase  several  hundred 
thousand  dollars  were  lost  by  the  bank.  The  cashier 
of  a  large  corporation  speculated  with  the  funds  of  the 
company.  His  operations  were  successful  and  he  put 
the   money  back   before   his   stealings   were. detected. 


'9^S0^i'S»g»'l^^i.r -TT.  .v^-      .-'■'ewsv.v^,-;;'.-.  - . ■*->f«-.*i»*' 


I 


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CRY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


ast  up 

ighout  • 

Che  morning  greeting  between  friends 

or,  "How  do  you  do?"  but, 

^     *i  or  the  laundress 

--._nt,  with  carriage, 

clerk — without  any 

possessed — suddenly 

job  a;  lilliona^ 

'"'^^'^"  3  and  OL.  dr.-., 

left  an  estate 

::ulate  in  miu- 

)rtunes  acquired  all 

ble  to 

^^-,^J      n  and 

hands  of  an  operator 

ept  away  for 

\  clerk  in  a 


I  uib  own 

-  ._ther  man- 

;   one 

day 

for  a  f rier;  i 

f  stocks  for  v% 

'margin 
1  hundred 
iie  cashier 
ads  of  'h^ 

?is  ope 

j1  and  ! 

ack  befoi 

ere.de 

I* 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  497 

The  manager  discovered  what  he  had  been  doing  and 
dismissed  him.  He  snapped  his  fingers  in  the  manager's 
face.  He  had  ^500,000  to  his  credit  in  the  bank, 
and  was  allowed  to  get  away  with  it.  The  corporation 
had  lost  no  money  and  wanted  no  trouble  over  the 
embezzlement. 

The  public  mind  appeared  to  be  demoralized.  The 
obligations  of  trusteeship  sat  lightly  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  unscrupulous  men  who  obtained  control  of  the 
mining  companies.  Not  only  did  they  use  the  infor- 
mation which  they  obtained  concerning  the  condition 
and  development  of  the  mines  under  their  charge  for 
their  own  benefit,  keeping  the  stockholders  in  ignorance 
thereof,  but  following  the  example  set  by  the  builders 
of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  company  in  the  forming 
of  the  Contract  and  Finance  company,  they  formed 
milling  and  lumber  companies,  and  other  corporations, 
through  which  by  extortionate  contracts  they  could 
obtain  an  undue  share  of  the  proceeds  of  the  mines, 
exhaust  the  output,  or  the  proceeds  of  assessments 
levied  upon  its  shareholders.  A  man  named  John  H. 
Burke  brought  suit,  or  a  series  of  suits,  against  the 
directors  of  the  Consolidated  Virginia  and  California 
mining  companies — the  so-called  "bonanza"  firm — 
alleging  fraudulent  contracts  made  with  themselves  for 
milling,  assaying,  and  refining  the  bullion,  supplying 
the  mines  with  lumber,  fuel,  etc.,  and  claiming  that  the 
stockholders  were  damaged  to  the  extent  of  ^35,000,000. 
Burke  had  but  a  small  amount  of  stock  and  he  worked 
for  three  years  preparing  his  case.  He  received  no  help 
from  other  shareholders  but  a  few  joined  him  when  he 
began  to  get  court  rulings  in  his  favor.     He  won  his 


498  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

preliminary  case  and  the  whole  affair  was  settled  out 
of  court  and  all  the  cases  were  dismissed — the  statute  of 
limitations  running  against  any  new  cases  that  might  be 
brought.  Burke  received  but  little  encouragement  from 
the  public,  for  the  suits  depressed  the  value  of  the  shares 
in  the  two  mines  and  consequently  the  stock  market, 
and  was  roundly  abused  by  a  venal  press  as  a  mischief- 
maker.  The  decision  of  the  court  was  not  made  public 
for  the  case  was  dismissed  before  judgment  was  entered, 
but  when  the  settlement  was  announced  it  was  said  that 
one  of  the  conditions  made  was  that  the  plaintiff  was 
to  leave  California  and  trouble  no  more  the  honest 
conduct  of  mine  management. 

And  it  came  to  pass  when  Ahab  saw  Elijah,  that  Ahab  said 
unto  him:  'Art  thou  he  that  troubleth  Israel?'  And  he  answered: 
'I  have  not  troubled  Israel;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house."' 

The  use  of  their  positions  by  directors  to  raise  or 
depress  the  market  value  of  shares  of  the  mines  in  their 
control  was  of  the  commonest  occurrence,  and  such  were 
the  degrading  influences  of  stock  gambling  that  little 
was  thought  of  this  betrayal  of  trust;  it  was  expected 
of  them  and  men  sought  the  position  of  director  for  such 
purpose.  That  the  essence  of  trusteeship  is  the  accept- 
ance of  property  or  power  over  property  to  be  used 
exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  another  seems  to  have  been 
a  doctrine  unknown  to  either  directors  or  shareholders, 
or  at  least,  entirely  disregarded  by  them.  These  stric- 
tures, however,  need  not  be  confined  to  California. 
Recent  developments  in  the  case  of  the  New  Haven  and 
other  roads  might  be  cited — not  to  excuse  Californians, 
but  to  give  them  company  in  the  dock. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  499 

The  creation  of  corporations  within  corporations  for 
the  purpose  of  absorbing  the  enormous  profits  of  rail- 
road building,  of  mining  and  reducing  ores,  and  of  other 
corporate  enterprises,  together  with  the  manipulation 
of  the  stock  market,  has  created  some  swollen  fortunes 
in  California;  but  such  things  are  condemned  by  the 
better  class;*  audit  may  be  said  that  the  reign  of  the 
robber  baron  is  past,  and  that  admiration  for  his  suc- 
cess is  confined  to  the  small  band  of  retainers  who  still 
regard  the  good  old  rule  of  Rob  Roy, 

"The  simple  plan. 

That  they  shall  take  who  have  the  power, 
And  they  shall  keep  who  can." 

By  1 88 1  the  stock  speculation  period  had  about  spent 
itself;  not  because  of  a  reform  among  the  people,  but 
because  a  decline  of  production  of  the  Comstock  Lode 
rendered  it  impossible  to  sustain  the  market  and  induce 
speculation.  The  weary  and  bedraggled  wrecks  of  the 
stock  market,  male  and  female,  move  feebly  up  and 
down  Pine  and  Leidesdorff  streets  comforting  them- 
selves and  each  other  with  the  oft  repeated  formula 
that  "Mackay  (or  some  other  power)  will  be  here  next 
week  and  then  things  will  move,"  until  hope  dies  and 
the  last  offices  to  the  worn  out  body  are  performed  by 
charitable  friends. 

The  destruction  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco  by  earth- 
quake and  fire  in  1906  is  given  in  another  place, f  and  it 
only  remains  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  noted  graft 

*In  his  message  to  the  legislature  in  1872  Governor  Newton  Booth  sharply- 
criticised  the  practice  by  which  mine  operators  in  control  managed  to  divert  into 
their  own  pockets  all  the  gold  extracted  by  paying  extortionate  prices  to  subsidiary 
companies  for  performing  services  which  should  have  been  performed  by  the 
companies  for  the  benefit  of  the  body  of  stockholders. 

\Fol.  F,  Chap.  XIX. 


500  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

prosecutions  in  that  city.  The  street  railroad  system 
of  the  city  had,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  lines, 
been  gathered  under  the  head  of  the  Market  Street 
Railroad  company,  and  an  attempt  was  made,  without 
success,  to  change  the  method  employed  for  moving  its 
cars,  from  the  cable  to  the  overhead  electric  system. 
This  was  vigorously  opposed  by  the  citizens  who  were 
content  with  the  cable  cars  and  did  not  desire  to  have 
their  streets  ornamented  with  trolley  poles  and  wires. 
On  the  nth  day  of  October,  1901,  the  Market  Street 
Consolidated  Railway  company  which  had  been  capi- 
talized at  about  ^32,750,000  was  sold  to  a  group  of 
eastern  capitalists  for  par  for  its  stock  and  bonds,  and 
a  new  organization,  known  as  the  United  Railroads  of 
San  Francisco,  took  its  place.  The  new  railroad  was 
capitalized  (stock  and  bonds)  at  about  $80,000,000  and 
thus  a  system,  which  had  cost  to  build  and  equip  not 
to  exceed  $12,000,000  to  $14,000,000  was  expected  to 
earn  interest  and  dividends  on  more  than  $80,000,000. 
These  roads,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  minor  lines 
were  all  cable  roads.  In  the  evolution  of  street  transpor- 
tation the  change  from  horse  power  to  cable  line,  while 
very  expensive  in  its  initial  cost,  reduces  the  oper- 
ating expenses  two-thirds,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the 
expense  of  operation  by  overhead  trolley  is  nearly  one- 
half  less  than  that  of  the  cable.  When  the  San  Francisco 
roads  changed  from  horse  cars  to  cable  cars  they  took 
up  the  slack  by  heavy  increase  of  capitalization,  and  the 
fares  remained  the  same  as  before  the  change.  This  cap- 
italization was  further  increased  when  the  lines  were  con- 
solidated under  the  head  of  the  Market  Street  company, 
built  and  owned  by  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  builders. 


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•RY  OF  CALIF' 

J    111     cllS.t    Clt}   .  otrCct    iiili, 

'   '^,  with  the  >.-^vvj^LiOn  of  tw' ' 

under  the  head  of  the 

iilij  id  an  attempt  was  made,  without 

succes;  ige  the  m  >yed  for  moving  its 

">,  fru;;  ~  ui     --  raead  electric  system. 

was  the  citizens  who  were 

did  not  desire  to  have 
their  streets  ornamei  rolley  poles  and  wires. 

the  Market  S 


nder  th 

d  by  LheCeaii 


"!,      T- 


"^  ^^een  v...^ 


at  abr  group  of 

-nds,  and 
,,  riited  Railroads  of 

..rn^rrsfo-     "'^'"'■":i   WaS 

lo^unTfJ.  -:!  "^  .and 

o,c>oo  was  expect 


.ion 

e  in  ii 

n  the  San  Frai 

hey  too 
^dthe 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  501 

The  United  Railroads  now  renewed  the  effort  to 
obtain  permission  to  use  the  trolley  system.  It  offered 
to  pay  to  the  city  ^200,000  for  the  privilege  of  erecting 
poles  on  Market  street,  but  the  people  refused  to  listen 
to  the  song  of  the  siren,  and  preferred  to  keep  Market 
street  clear  of  trolley  poles.  After  the  San  Francisco 
fire  of  1906  the  need  of  street  transportation  was  very 
great  and  one  or  two  streets  were  cleared  of  debris  and 
trolley  poles  erected  under  a  temporary  permit  in  order 
to  provide  quick  means  of  travel;  this  permit  was  ex- 
tended to  other  streets  as  fast  as  they  could  be  suffi- 
ciently cleared  to  permit  the  passage  of  cars,  until 
finally  most  of  the  lines  of  the  United  Railroads  were 
provided  with  poles  and  wires.  This  was  with  the  full 
consent  and  approval  of  the  citizens.  Then  without 
previous  notice  an  ordinance  was  introduced  and  rushed 
through  making  the  provisional  grant  permanent.  The 
ground  taken  was  that  the  earthquake  had  ruined  the 
cable  tunnels  and  it  was  freely  stated,  and  believed  by 
many  people,  that  by  reason  of  liability  to  earthquakes 
San  Francisco  was  unsuited  to  cable  road  transportation. 
The  pretense  was  false.  The  earthquake  did  not  injure 
the  cable  tunnels  and  as  soon  as  the  companies  could 
rebuild  their  engine  houses,  the  cables  on  two  roads — 
the  California  and  Geary  streets — were  started  up,  and 
that  of  the  California  is  running  today.  The  labor 
party  was  in  power,  having  not  only  the  mayor  but 
the  entire  board  of  supervisors,  and  great  was  the  indig- 
nation of  the  citizens  at  this  betrayal  of  trust.  It 
transpired  that  the  United  Railroads  had  paid  to  the 
labor  agent,  Abraham  Ruef,  ^200,000  to  be  divided 
among  the  mayor  and  supervisors  for  the  privilege  of 


502  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

the  overhead  trolley  and  the  mayor  and  supervisors 
were  indicted  for  this  and  for  other  similar  crimes,  and 
indictments  were  also  found  against  Patrick  Calhoun, 
president,  and  the  other  officers  of  the  railroad  company. 
Confessions  were  secured  from  the  eighteen  supervisors 
and  from  Ruef  and  strong  efforts  were  made  to  convict 
the  railroad  officials  of  bribery,  but  all  failed  owing  to 
the  character  of  the  testimony — that  of  self-confessed 
boodlers — and  Calhoun's  connection  with  the  payment 
of  money  could  not  be  established.  Eugene  Schmitz, 
the  mayor,  was  convicted  of  receiving  bribes  and  re- 
moved from  office  and  Dr.  Edward  R.  Taylor  appointed 
in  his  place.  One  by  one  the  guilty  supervisors  resigned 
and  other  citizens  were  appointed  until  the  entire  admin- 
istration was  reconstructed.  Ruef  was  convicted  of  re- 
ceiving and  paying  bribes,  and  the  eighteen  grafting 
supervisors  were  given  immunity  for  assisting  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  "higher  ups."  There  were  many 
charges  of  bribery  and  it  was  brought  out  that  every 
person  or  corporation  that  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  city 
for  permit  of  any  kind  was,  under  the  able  management 
of  Ruef,  "held  up"  and  made  to  pay.  The  city  was 
in  ruins  and  every  builder,  contractor,  and  owner  was 
made  to  pay  tribute.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
telephone  companies,  all  parties  were  assessed.  In 
the  telephone  matter,  the  Pacific  Telephone  company 
was  in  possession.  The  Home  Telephone  company  ap- 
plied for  permission  to  enter.  One  company  paid  each 
supervisor  ^3,000  to  let  them  enter;  the  other  company 
paid  the  supervisors  ^5,000  apiece  to  keep  them  out. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SOCIETY  503 

The  supervisors  accepted  both.  The  grand  jury  indicted 
officers  of  the  gas  company,  the  telephone  companies, 
the  Parkside  Realty  company,  and  others.  The  city 
was  divided  into  two  camps:  those  who  thought 
Calhoun  had  a  right  to  buy  supervisors  and  those  who 
thought  he  ought  to  go  to  jail.  The  feeling  ran  high; 
the  talk  was  bitter;  and  life-long  friends  passed  each 
other  without  speaking.  The  case  of  the  prosecution 
was  badly  managed  and  the  defense  employed  acute 
attorneys  for  the  purpose  of  heckling  the  judge  to 
cause  him  to  lose  his  temper  and  make  errors.  In  this 
they  had  some  success,  and  in  the  case  of  the  mayor, 
Schmitz,  a  reviewing  court  reversed  the  conviction  and 
on  subsequent  trial  he  was  declared  "not  guilty."  On 
the  1 8th  day  of  May,  191 2,  all  of  the  untried  graft 
cases  were  ordered  dismissed,  leaving  the  only  person 
to  suffer  punishment  for  his  crimes,  Abraham  Ruef, 
the  arch-boodler,  who  received  the  full  extent  of  the 
law — fourteen  years  in  the  penitentiary.  But  while 
the  prosecution  failed  to  send  many  grafters  to  jail,  so 
near  to  it  were  some  of  them  drawn  that  the  dark  air 
of  the  felon's  cell  penetrated  them  with  a  chill  that  will 
not  soon  be  forgotten,  and  the  effect  of  the  whole  will  be 
a  greater  respect  for  the  law. 

The  short  period  which  has  elapsed  since  California 
joined  the  sisterhood  of  states  has  seen  momentous 
changes  within  her  border.  Not  only  is  this  apparent 
in  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  country  but  in 
the  people  as  well.  They  have  had  their  trials  and 
have  met  every  change  with  fortitude.  The  Californian 
has  been  fortunate  in  his  selection  of  ancestors.     He 


504  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

comes  of  a  race  of  strong  men,  and  as  years  gather 
more  and  more  upon  him,  he  estimates  more  and  more 
highly  his  debt  to  preceding  ages.  He  no  longer  writes 
success  with  a  dollar  mark  but  considers  the  ethics  of 
his  place  in  the  body  politic,  and  is  reaching  for  higher 
ideals,  for  nobler  pursuits. 


APPENDIX 
The  Terry-Broderick  Duel 


TERRY  TO  BRODERICK 

Hon.  D.  C.  Broderick:  Oakland,  September  8th,  1859. 

Sir:  Some  two  months  since,  at  the  public  table  of  the 
International  hotel  in  San  Francisco,  you  saw  fit  to  indulge  in 
certain  remarks  concerning  me,  which  were  offensive  in  their 
nature.  Before  I  had  heard  of  the  circumstance,  your  note  of 
20th  of  June,  addressed  to  Mr.  D.  W.  Perley,  in  which  you 
declared  that  you  would  not  respond  to  any  call  of  a  personal 
character  during  the  political  canvass  just  concluded,  had  been 
published. 

I  have,  therefore,  not  been  permitted  to  take  any  notice  of 
those  remarks  until  the  expiration  of  the  limit  fixed  by  yourself. 
I  now  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  require  of  you  a  retraction 
of  those  remarks.  This  note  will  be  handed  to  you  by  my  friend, 
Calhoun  Benham,  Esq.,  who  is  acquainted  with  its  contents,  and 
will  receive  your  reply, 

D.  S.  Terry. 

BENHAM  TO  BRODERICK 

When  Mr.  Benham  delivered  this  letter,  Mr.  Broderick 
remarked  that  he  would  answer  it  on  the  following  day.  Mr. 
Benham  suggested  that  an  earlier  reply  would  be  desirable,  but 
Broderick  did  not  change  his  determination,  and  after  leaving 
him  Benham  sent  Broderick  the  following  note: 

Hon.  D.  C.  Broderick:  San  Francisco,  Sept.  8th,  1859. 

Sir:  Should  you  have  occasion  to  communicate  with  me  sooner 
than  the  time  agreed  upon  between  us,  I  will  be  found  at  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel.     I  omitted  to  leave  my  address  this  morning. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Calhoun  Benham. 


506  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

BRODERICK  to  TERRY 

Hon.  D.  S.  Terry:  San  Francisco,  September  9th,  1859. 

Sir:  Your  note  of  September  8th  reached  me  through  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Calhoun  Benham.  The  remarks  by  me  in  the  conversation 
referred  to  may  be  a  subject  of  future  misrepresentation;  and 
for  obvious  reasons,  I  have  to  desire  you  to  state  what  were  the 
remarks  that  you  designate  in  your  note  as  offensive,  and  of 
which  you  require  of  me  a  retraction. 

I  remain,  etc., 

D.  C  Broderick. 

TERRY  TO  BRODERICK 

Hon.  D.  C.  Broderick,  San  Francisco,  September  9,  1859. 

Sir:  In  reply  to  your  note  of  this  date,  I  have  to  say,  that  the 
offensive  remarks  to  which  I  alluded  in  my  communication  of 
yesterday  are  as  follows:  "I  have  heretofore  considered  and  spoken 
of  him  (myself)  as  the  only  honest  man  on  the  Supreme  Court 
bench;  but  I  now  take  it  all  back" — thus,  by  implication, 
reflecting  on  my  personal  and  official  integrity.  This  is  the 
substance  of  your  remarks,  as  reported  to  me;  the  precise  terms, 
however,  in  which  such  an  implication  was  conveyed  are  not 
important  to  the  question.  You  yourself  can  best  remember 
the  terms  in  which  you  spoke  of  me,  on  the  occasion  referred  to. 
What  I  require  is,  the  retraction  of  any  words  which  were  used 
calculated  to  reflect  on  my  character  as  an  officer  and  a  gentleman. 

I  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

D.  S.  Terry. 

BRODERICK  to  TERRY 

Hon.  D.  S.  Terry:  Friday  evening,  9th  September. 

Sir:  Yours  of  this  date  has  been  received.  The  remarks  made 
by  me  were  occasioned  by  certain  offensive  allusions  of  yours 
concerning  me,  made  in  the  convention  at  Sacramento,  reported 
in  the  "Union"  of  June  25th.  Upon  the  topic  alluded  to  in 
your  note  of  this  date,  my  language,  so  far  as  my  recollection 


APPENDIX  507 


serves  me,  was  as  follows:  During  Judge  Terry's  incarceration  by 
the  Vigilance  Committee  I  paid  $200  a  week  to  support  a  news- 
paper in  his  (your)  defense.  I  have  also  stated  heretofore  that  I 
considered  him  (Judge  Terry)  the  only  honest  man  on  the  Supreme 
Court  bench;  but  I  take  it  all  back.  You  are  the  best  judge  as 
to  whether  this  language  affords  good  ground  for  offense. 

I  remain,  etc., 

D.  C.  Broderick. 

THE  CHALLENGE 

Hon.  D.  C.  Broderick,  San  Francisco,  Sept,  9th,  1859. 

Sir:  Some  months  ago  you  used  language  concerning  me, 
offensive  in  its  nature.  I  waited  the  lapse  of  a  period  of  time 
fixed  by  yourself  before  I  asked  reparation  therefor  at  your  hands. 
You  replied  asking  specifications  of  the  language  used  which  I 
regarded  offensive.  In  another  letter  I  gave  you  the  specification 
and  reiterated  my  demand  for  a  retraction.  To  this  last  letter 
you  reply,  acknowledging  the  use  of  the  offensive  language 
imputed  to  you,  and  not  making  the  retraction  required.  This 
course  on  your  part  leaves  me  no  other  alternative  but  to  demand 
the  satisfaction  usual  among  gentlemen,  which  I  accordingly  do. 
Mr.  Benham  will  make  the  necessary  arrangements. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

D.  S.  Terry. 

THE  ACCEPTANCE 
Hon.  D.  S.  Terry,  San  Francisco,  September  loth,  1859. 

Sir:  Your  note  of  the  above  date  has  been  received  at  one 
o'clock  a.  m.,  September  loth.  In  response  to  the  same  I  will 
refer  you  to  my  friend,  Hon.  J.  C.  McKibben,  who  will  make  the 
necessary  arrangement  demanded  in  your  letter. 

I  remain,  etc., 

D.  C.  Broderick. 


508  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

THE  CARTEL 

"ist.  Principals  to  be  attended  by  two  seconds  and  a  surgeon 
each;  also  by  a  person  to  load  the  weapons.  This  article  not  to 
exclude  the  drivers  of  the  vehicles.  If  other  parties  obtrude,  the 
time  and  place  may  be  changed  at  the  instance  of  either  party. 

"2d.  Place  of  meeting,  on  the  farm  adjoining  the  Lake  House 
ranch.  The  road  to  the  farm-house  leaves  the  old  Lake 
House  road,  where  you  strike  the  first  fence  of  the  Lake  House 
property,  about  a  mile  before  you  reach  the  Lake  House.  There 
you  take  a  road  to  the  left,  which  brings  you  to  the  farm-house, 
on  the  upper  end  of  the  lake  (Laguna  Merced),  occupied  by 
William  Higgins.  This  is  the  general  neighborhood;  the  precise 
spot  to  be  determined  when  the  parties  meet. 

"3d.     Weapons,  dueling-pistols. 

"4th.  Distance,  ten  paces;  parties  facing  each  other;  pistols 
to  be  held  with  the  muzzles  vertically  downwards. 

"5th.  Word  to  be  given  as  follows,  to  wit:  The  inquiry  shall 
first  be  made,  'Gentlemen,  are  you  ready?'  Upon  each  party 
replying,  'Ready,'  the  word  'Fire'  shall  be  given,  to  be  followed 
by  the  words  'One,  two.'  Neither  party  to  raise  his  pistol  before 
the  word  'Fire'  nor  to  discharge  it  after  the  word  'Two.'  The 
intervals  between  the  words  'Fire-one-two'  to  be  exemplified  by 
the  party  winning  the  word,  as  near  as  may  be. 

"6th.  The  weapons  to  be  loaded  on  the  ground  in  the  presence 
of  a  second  of  each  party. 

"7th.  Choice  of  position  and  the  giving  of  the  word  to  be 
determined  by  chance — throwing  up  a  coin  as  usual. 

"8th.  Choice  of  the  two  weapons  to  be  determined  by  chance, 
as  in  article  7th. 

"9th.  Choice  of  the  respective  weapons  of  parties  to  be 
determined  on  the  ground,  by  throwing  up  a  coin,  as  usual;  that 
is  to  say,  each  party  bringing  their  pistols,  and  the  pair  to  be 
used  to  be  determined  by  chance,  as  in  article  7th. 

"Time,  Monday,  12th  September,  1859,  at  5>^  o'clock  a.  m." 


APPENDIX  509 


TERRY'S  OBJECTIONS 

"On  the  part  of  Judge  Terry,  it  is  protested  against  the  word 
being  stopped  short  of  the  word  'three'  as  unusual  and  unwar- 
rantable; also  against  the  place  of  meeting  being  either  in  San 
Francisco  or  San  Mateo  County. 

"Mr.  Broderick's  seconds  answer  the  protest  in  regard  to  the 
parties  being  restrained  by  the  word  'two,'  that  it  is  neither 
unusual  nor  unwarrantable,  and  has  the  feature  of  humanity; 
also,  that  no  possible  advantage  can  accrue  to  their  principal  by 
fixing  the  place  at  a  remote  and  isolated  spot,  where  they  will 
not  be  intruded  upon. 

"Article  numbered  5,  among  the  articles  setting  forth  the  terms 
upon  which  the  parties  are  to  have  their  meeting,  is  objected  to, 
because  the  word  'three'  to  follow  'two'  is  not  to  be  called  as  the 
word  after  which  neither  party  is  to  fire  upon  his  adversary;  and 
it  is  propounded  to  the  seconds  of  Mr.  Broderick  on  behalf  of 
Judge  Terry,  whether  or  not  such  article  (numbered  5)  is  insisted 
upon  as  a  sine  qua  non  to  their  meeting.  A  categorical  answer 
in  writing  is  requested. 

"Article  numbered  5,  among  the  articles  setting  forth  the  terms 
upon  which  the  parties  are  to  have  their  meeting,  being  objected 
to,  because  the  word  'three'  to  follow  'two'  is  not  to  be  called 
as  the  word  after  which  neithci  party  is  to  fire  upon  his  adversary, 
and  it  being  propounded  to  the  seconds  of  Mr.  Broderick,  on 
behalf  of  Judge  Terry,  whether  or  not  said  article  (numbered  5) 
is  insisted  upon  as  a  sine  qua  non  to  their  meeting,  and  a  categorical 
answer  in  writing  being  requested  of  Mr.  Broderick,  it  is  responded 
by  his  seconds,  that,  having  in  the  terms  asked  nothing  but  what 
their  principal  is  entitled  to,  and  the  terms  not  subjecting  their 
adversary  to  any  disadvantage,  the  request  is  deemed  improper, 
it  being  always  reserved  to  them,  the  friends  of  Judge  Terry, 
to  accept  or  decline  the  proposed  terms." 


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